JUSTICE

Ethnic Cleansing of Invented People.

2011-12-20T15:55:00.000-06:00

By Miko Peled

Mostafa Tamimi from Nabi Saleh, Bahjat Zaalan and his son Ramdan from Gaza died on my fiftieth birthday and just a few days after Newt Gingrich declared them an invented people. They were murdered by the Israeli terrorist organization, the IDF, an organization that is supported and funded by the US. One Israeli terrorist shot the invented Tamimi in the head with a tear gas canister, and another Israeli terrorist fired a rocket that murdered the invented Zaalan and his boy Ramadan. Both terrorists were educated and trained by Israel, and armed by the US. The Israeli terrorists are not invented but quite real, and they are safe, protected by the apartheid regime that trained and sent them on their missions, and the Israeli court system will make sure that they are never brought to justice. This is how Israel’s well-oiled ethnic cleansing machine operates.

The Zionist ethnic cleansing of Palestine is not a thing of the past but an ongoing campaign that is executed by three arms of the State of Israel: The education system, a dedicated bureaucracy and the security forces. The education system is dedicated to indoctrinating and producing soldiers and bureaucrats who will execute and enforce the ethnic cleansing. The bureaucracy is charged with making rules that make life unlivable for Palestinians. Rules that restrict Palestinian access to their lands, and restrict their ability to travel freely to work and school. This same bureaucracy then demands that Palestinians pay for permits to be allowed do these very same basic things that they were denied. The security forces, the most obvious of which is the IDF, are charged with enforcing the restrictions, fighting off the resistance, armed or peaceful, and terrorizing the “invented” people of Palestine.

Since my father was a general and I served as a soldier in the IDF terrorist organization, people often ask me how is it that Israeli children who are raised in a Western style democracy become such monsters once they are in uniform? The detailed answer can be found in my book, The General’s Son due out in February 2012, but the short answer is this: Education – Racism requires a mindset that is fashioned by education. In order to rationalize and justify the ethnic cleansing the Israeli education system portrays Palestinians as culturally inferior, violent and bent on the annihilation of the Jews, and at the same time, void of a true national identity. Palestinian national identity is but a figment of some anti-Semitic imagination.

Israeli children are educated to see the Palestinians as a problem that must be solved and as a threat that must be eliminated. They can go through life, as I did growing up in Jerusalem, without ever meeting a Palestinian child. They know nothing of the life or culture of Palestinians who quite often live only several hundred meters from them.

Palestinians are portrayed as an existential threat through absurd comparisons like that of Yasser Arafat to Hitler, the Palestinians to Nazis, and the Palestinian resistance to Al Qaeda. Since Israeli kids never meet Palestinians what they learn in school, particularly in the school textbooks, is all that they know. In fact it is remarkable that even though they live so close to one another, much if not all of what Israelis know about their Palestinian neighbors comes from high school text books and popular racist stereotypes. Israelis don’t know that Palestinians never had an army, that they do not posses a single tank, a single warship or fighter jet, that they don’t have a single artillery battery and do not in fact pose a military threat at all. According to a new book by Dr. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, not a single photo of a person who is a Palestinian exists in Israeli textbooks and there are millions of Palestinians in and around Israel. Israelis don’t learn about Palestinian doctors and teachers, engineers and writers. They don’t learn Palestinian poetry or prose and they don’t read the works of Palestinian historians.

At a recent lecture I mentioned the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and someone called out: “What ethnic cleansing?” People are unaware of the ethnic cleansing taking place in Palestine because Israel hides it well and the mainstream media doesn’t care enough to ask. In mainstream peace groups and dialogue groups that discuss Palestine/Israel, a basic Israeli condition is not to bring up issues like the ethnic cleansing because Israel doesn’t like to talk about it.

But for the past 64 years ethnic cleansing of Palestine is what drives the Zionist policies towards Palestinians. All Zionist governments and all Zionist political parties left right and center support the ethnic cleansing. The Israeli judicial system lets the Israeli authorities get away with abuse, theft and murder as long as they are perpetuated against Palestinians. Had these same crimes been committed against Israeli Jews they would have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Zionist supporters like to bring up the fact that on November 29, 1947 the United Nations voted to partition Palestine into a Jewish sate and an Arab state. What is left out of the Zionist story is that within one year of the vote Israeli forces had managed to capture close to 80% of Palestine, destroy close to 500 Palestinian towns and villages, kill scores of unarmed civilians and force the exile of some 800,000 Palestinians.

Then, when the UN passed resolution194 in December of 1948, calling for the refugees to be allowed to return to their homes, Israel proceeded to build cities and towns, parks and highways for the use of Jewish Israelis on Palestinian land. Then the Knesset began passing laws that prohibit the return of the refugees and allow the new state to confiscate their lands.

After the war was over, the Palestinians who remained within the newly created Jewish state were forced to become citizens of a state that despised them and saw them as a “problem” and a “threat.” They were designated as “The Arabs of Israel” a designation that stripped them of a national identity and denied them any rights to the land and provided them very limited rights as citizens. From being the rightful owners of their lands and their country they now existed at the pleasure of the new owner of the land, the state of Israel. Palestinian refugees were forced into concentration camps, conveniently called refugee camps, and those that tried to return were shot. A military unit was created for the purpose of punishing Palestinian refugee who “infiltrated” back into their homeland, now called Israel. It was called Unit 101, the notorious Ariel Sharon led it and it made a name for itself as a murderous gang with a license to kill Palestinians.

So regardless of the myth, now perpetuated by Newt Gingrich among others, that says there was no forced ethnic cleansing, we know today that the creation of Israel was made possible through a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing, conducted by the Jewish militia, involving massacres, terrorism, and the wholesale looting of an entire nation.

Newt Gingrich, being the history buff that he is, might be interested in a story I mention in my book The General’s Son, about my mother. She was born and raised in Jerusalem and she remembers the homes of Palestinians families in neighborhoods in West Jerusalem. She told me that when she was a child, on Saturday afternoons she would go for walks through these neighborhoods, admiring the beauty of the homes, watching families sit together in their beautiful gardens. In 1948 when the Palestinian families were forced out of West Jerusalem, my mother was offered one of those beautiful, spacious homes but she refused. At age 22, the wife of a young army officer with little means and with two small children, she refused a beautiful spacious home, offered to her completely free because she could not bear the thought of living in the home of a family that was forced out and now lives in a refugee camp. “The coffee was still warm on the tables as the soldiers came in and began the looting” she told me. “Can you imagine how much those families, those mothers must miss their homes.” She would ask and she continued, “I remember seeing the truckloads of loot, taken by the Israeli soldiers from these homes. How were they not ashamed of themselves?” there are thousands upon thousands of homes in cities all over the country that were taken.

Moving forward now to 1967 and the myth that Israel was fighting for its existence as it was attacked by Arab armies from all directions. Much was written about this but nothing is more revealing than the minutes of the meetings of the IDF general staff from June 1967, just prior to the war. According to the generals, one of whom was my father, Matti Peled, not only was there no existential threat but the generals clearly state that the Egyptian army needed at least a year and a half before it would be ready for war and therefore this was an opportune time to attack and destroy it. The army pressured the cabinet to authorize an attack and indeed the cabinet approved an attack against Egypt. The IDF destroyed the Egyptian army and then went on to attack Jordan and Syria. It took the IDF six days and 700 casualties to kill an estimated 15,000 Arab forces, take the West Bank, the Golan Heights and The Sinai Peninsula. One may like to think this was a miracle but it was a well-planned, well-executed attack against countries that had no viable military force. The Israeli army had thus fulfilled its goal of conquering the entire Land of Israel, and the De-Arabizing of Palestine could now proceed into the West Bank and Gaza.

Since the early days of the State of Israel the IDF made it its mission to be the most brutal bully in the region. Today the IDF has one purpose: to conduct an all out war against Palestinians by terrorizing Palestinian civilians, kidnapping children from their homes and using brutal force against protesters. We are reminded of the intensity of IDF cruelty every so often, the latest major display being the three-week bloodbath in Gaza that began on December 27, 2008. Hundreds of tons of bombs were dropped by Israeli pilots on Gaza, followed by a massive invasion of land forces. All this for the purpose of terrorizing a defenseless civilian population that includes 800,000 children.

Now that Israel has been in control of the West Bank for over four decades it had built and invested there heavily. But all of the investment and construction in the West Bank was made to bring Jews into the West Bank. Palestinian lands are being taken at an alarming pace, their homes are destroyed and thousands are incarcerated, while industry, roads, malls, schools and gated communities with swimming pools are being built for Jews only. Water, which is the scarcest resource of all, is controlled and distributed by the Israeli water authority, as follows: Per capita, Israelis receive 300 cubic meters of water per year. In comparison, per capita Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza receive 35-85 cubic meters per year, while the World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 100 cubic meter of water per person per year. But what is even worse is that per capita, Israeli settlers in the West Bank are allocated 1500 cubic meters of water per year. Jews in the West Bank live with green lawns and swimming pools while Palestinians quite often get no water at all. Perhaps invented people have no need for water.

De-Arabizing the history of Palestine is another crucial element of the ethnic cleansing. 1500 years of Arab and Muslim rule and culture in Palestine are trivialized, evidence of its existence is being destroyed and all this is done to make the absurd connection between the ancient Hebrew civilization and today’s Israel. The most glaring example of this today is in Silwan, (Wadi Hilwe) a town adjacent to the Old City of Jerusalem with some 50,000 residents. Israel is expelling families from Silwan and destroying their homes because it claims that king David built a city there some 3000 years ago. Thousands of families will be made homeless so that Israel can build a park to commemorate a king that may or may not have lived 3000 years ago. Not a shred of historical evidence exists that can prove King David ever lived yet Palestinian men, women, children and the elderly along with their schools and mosques, churches and ancient cemeteries and any evidence of their existence must be destroyed and then denied so that Zionist claims to exclusive rights to the land may be substantiated.

Once we connect the dots it is not hard to see that the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is only a small part of the Israeli Palestinian issue. The greater issue is the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine by the Zionist state. The way forward for Israelis and Palestinians alike is to oppose the ethnic cleansing by opposing all its manifestations. This means supporting the movement to boycott, divest and place sanctions on Israel, or BDS for short, it means actively participating in the popular non-violent struggle in Palestine and it means challenging the racist laws that govern Israel by defying them. There has to be a clear and unequivocal call to recognize that the IDF is a terrorist organization and its officers are war criminals. Furthermore, the reprehensible discrimination against Palestinians, whether they live in Israel/Palestine or not, practiced by the security officials at Ben Gurion airport and other points of entry to Israel/Palestine must be challenged. The struggle for a democracy in our shared homeland is no different than the struggle at Tahrir square and can in fact be seen as part of the Arab Spring.

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A letter to Obama

2011-09-30T00:20:00.000-05:00

A letter a friend of mine wrote to Obama.

Mr President;
I am writing to urge you to change the United States position on a Palestinian State and the use of the Veto at the U.N. Security Council. With Israel's new announcement that they will be constructing 1,100 new housing units in East Jerusalem, which is against international law, it only proves that they are not truly sincere in their statements that they believe in peace.

Although I do not believe in the two state solution, I believe in a single state with the right of return for all Palestinian people to their confiscated lands and their right to equal rights and say in government, but that solution is beyond hope of everr becoming a reality.

So, it that light, Mr President, it is time to give the Palestinian people their homeland and their independent country, the people have suffered enough under Israeli occupation, rule and terror.

And, Mr President, it is time for the United States to stop supporting state sponsored terror, in the name of Israel. All military and financial aid should be stopped until Israel complies with United Nations resolutions and International Law.

It is time to stop worrying about the Jewish vote in the United States and to actually think about the people who are being impacted by your decision, the people of Palestine.

Please Mr President, act in a positive way in this situation.

Sincerely;

'Palestinians need just two more Security Council votes in bid for statehood'

2011-09-20T10:32:00.001-05:00

Palestinian Foreign Minister says attempts underway to win over Gabon, Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina, in quest for UNSC majority; U.S. has vowed to veto the proposal if it cannot garner a blocking majority.

By DPA

Palestinian officials have so far enlisted the support of at least six or seven members of the 15-member Security Council in their bid to gain United Nations recognition as a sovereign state, a senior official said Tuesday.

"They are trying to convince two or three more Security Council members to vote in favor of accepting Palestine as a UN member state," Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki said.

The Palestinians hope to enlist nine members behind them, even if "the U.S. is going to veto it and embarrass itself," he told Voice of Palestine Radio from New York.

For any decision to pass in the 15-member Council, nine affirmative votes are needed, as well as no veto by any of the permanent Security Council members. The United States holds a veto and has promised to use it, if necessary.

Even as Palestinian diplomats work feverishly to enlist the nine votes to achieve a moral victory - even if it results in a technical defeat - US diplomats were working frantically to muster a blocking minority of seven.

Washington wants to avoid having to use its veto and appear as having single-handedly foiled the Palestinian bid.

So far only Germany and Colombia, which receives much financial support from the U.S. for fighting rebels and drug lords, are said to be with the US and Israel. France and Britain remain unclear.

The Palestinians are trying to win over Gabon, Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first, west-central African state seemed to have made up its mind to vote for the Palestinians, but the other two remained hesitant, Malki said.

Portugal, earlier still defined as undecided, by Tuesday seemed inclined to vote with the Palestinians, Israeli officials said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York Monday he would go ahead and submit the membership application on Friday, immediately after his address to the General Assembly's 66th session.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ahead of his scheduled departure to the General Assembly session late Tuesday or early Wednesday, called on Abbas to meet with him in New York.

"I call on the chairman of the Palestinian Authority to open direct negotiations in New York, which would continue in Jerusalem and Ramallah," he said in statement from his Jerusalem office.

"I propose to President Abbas to begin peace negotiations instead of wasting time on futile unilateral measures."

Abbas replied he was willing to meet Netanyahu in New York, but for protocol purposes, not to relaunch negotiations.

"I am ready to meet any Israeli official at any time he wants, but to meet only for meeting, I think it's useless," he told Fox News.

Abbas has conditioned negotiations on an Israeli construction freeze in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Netanyahu insists on negotiations without preconditions. The last round of talks broke off one year ago.

Malki said Abbas was under heavy pressure not to submit the application.

Europe is trying to convince Abbas not to go to the Security Council, but to the General Assembly, for a watered-down request.

"The president was clear in his position," Malki said.

"He told them we are committed to going to the Security Council for full UN membership and we will not accept anything less."

But a senior Israeli government official warned this would be a "mistake" that goes against past Israeli-Palestinian interim deals.

"It's impossible to impose peace from the outside. It won't happen," Mark Regev told correspondents in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, an opinion poll published Tuesday said the vast majority of Palestinians (83 per cent) support Abbas' bid.

The poll by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) interviewed some 1,200 Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza between September 15-17, and had a margin of error of 3 per cent.

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Egyptian protesters break into Israeli Embassy in Cairo; Obama expresses concern to Netanyahu

2011-09-09T21:38:00.000-05:00

Israeli ambassador and others leave Cairo on military plane; protesters tear down Israeli flag and attack security wall outside embassy.
A group of about 30 protesters broke into the Israeli Embassy in Cairo Friday and dumped hundreds of documents out of the windows after a day of demonstrations outside the building in which crowds swinging sledge hammers and using their bare hands tore apart the embassy's security wall.

Israel's ambassador, Yitzhak Levanon, his family and other embassy staff rushed to Cairo airport and left on a military plane for Israel, said airport officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Israeli officials refused to comment on the ambassador's departure.

Hundreds of protesters converged on the embassy throughout the afternoon and into the night, tearing down large sections of the graffiti-covered security wall outside the 21-story building housing the embassy. Egyptian security forces made no attempt for hours to intervene.

Just before midnight, a group of protesters reached a room on one of the embassy's lower floors at the top of the building and began dumping Hebrew-language documents from the windows, said an Egyptian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In Jerusalem, an Israeli official confirmed the embassy had been broken into, saying it appeared the group reached a waiting room on the lower floor. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to release the information.

No one answered the phone at the embassy late Friday.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Barak Obama spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the situation at the Israeli Embassy in Cairo.

The President's office said in a statement that Obama expressed great concern about the situation at the Embassy, and the security of the Israelis serving there.

The statement said Obama "reviewed the steps that the United States is taking at all levels to help resolve the situation without further violence, and to call on the Government of Egypt to honor its international obligations to safeguard the security of the Israeli Embassy."

Obama and Netanyahu agreed to stay in close touch until the situation is resolved.

Since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February, calls have grown in Egypt for ending the historic 1979 peace treaty with Israel, a pact that has never had the support of ordinary Egyptians. Anger increased last month after Israeli forces responding to a cross-border militant attack mistakenly killed five Egyptian police officers near the border.

Several large protests have taken place outside the embassy in recent months without serious incident. Friday's demonstration, however, quickly escalated with crowds pummeling the security wall with sledge hammers and tearing away large sections of the cement and metal barrier, which was recently put up to better protect the site from protests.

For the second time in less than a month, protesters were able to get to the top of the building and pull down the Israeli flag.

Crowds outside the building photographed documents that drifted to the ground and posted some of them online.

Protesters clashed with police and set fire to a police truck outside the embassy. Crowds also tried to attack a nearby police station but were turned back by security forces firing tear gas and warning shots. State radio reported that one person died of a heart attack and that 163 people were injured.

Senior Israeli officials were holding discussions on the embassy breach.

Israeli Defense Minster Ehud Barak said in a statement that he also spoke with his American counterpart, Leon Panetta, and appealed to him to do what he could to protect the embassy.

Thousands elsewhere protested for the first time in a month against the country's military rulers.

Seven months after the popular uprising that drove Mubarak from power, Egyptians are still pressing for a list of changes, including more transparent trials of former regime figures accused of corruption and a clear timetable for parliamentary elections.

Egyptians have grown increasingly distrustful of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took control of the country when Mubarak was forced out on Feb. 11 after nearly three decades in power. The council, headed by Mubarak's defense minister, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, has voiced its support for the revolution and those who called for democracy and justice.

But activists accuse it of remaining too close to Mubarak's regime and practicing similarly repressive policies, including abusing detainees. The trials of thousands of civilians in military courts has also angered activists.

"In the beginning we were with the military because they claimed to be protectors of the revolution, but month after month nothing has changed," said doctor Ghada Nimr, one of those who gathered in Tahrir Square.

One banner in Cairo read, "Egyptians, come out of your homes, Tantawi is Mubarak."

Demonstrators in Cairo also converged on the state TV building, a central courthouse and the Interior Ministry, a hated symbol of abuses by police and security forces under Mubarak. Protesters covered one of the ministry's gates with graffiti and tore off parts of the large ministry seal.

Protests also took place in Alexandria, Suez and several other cities.

About 850 people were killed in the early days of the Jan. 25-Feb. 11 uprising. Tantawi is scheduled to testify in Mubarak's trial in closed sessions that begin Sunday. The 83-year-old Mubarak is on trial on charges of complicity in the deaths of protesters, a charge that could bring the death penalty.

The judge in the trial banned TV cameras from the courtroom during this week's sessions, and starting Sunday the proceedings will be closed to the media and the public.

The lack of transparency in trials of members of Mubarak's inner circle has angered many in Egypt.

"These are all practices of the old regime: repression and restriction on freedoms," said Cairo protester Khaled Abdel-Hamid.

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Israelis could face trial in the Hague if Palestinian statehood recognized at UN, experts warn

2011-09-07T22:33:00.000-05:00

According to the statute of the court, the direct or indirect transfer of an occupier’s population into occupied territory constitutes a war crime.

By Tomer Zarchin

Recognition of a Palestinian state could, in theory, lead to Israeli officials being dragged repeatedly before the International Criminal Court in the Hague for claims regarding its settlement policies in the West Bank, legal experts say.

According to the statute of the court, the direct or indirect transfer of an occupier’s population into occupied territory constitutes a war crime.

“The jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in the Hague is a complementary jurisdiction, meaning that the court will not intervene in cases when a war crime complaint is being investigated by Israel and those responsible are prosecuted,” explained Prof. Robbie Sabel, a former legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry and an expert in international law.

“But in instances in which Israel is not conducting a war crime investigation and is not trying to ascertain the guilt of the accused, the court may get involved,” he said.
“The settlements are a prime example of this, since in theory one could say that we are talking about a war crime, that Israel is not investigating it and not bringing those responsible to justice. Thus, the court could get involved and investigate.”

Sabelisn’t convinced, however, that the Palestinians will use this tool very often, if at all.
“Interestingly, except for Jordan, no neighboring Arab state [has accepted the court’s jurisdiction],” he said. “Why hasn’t Syria joined? Syria could have joined and asked that an investigation be opened against Israel for settling the Golan. The reason is that if Syria joined, it would also be exposed to having its officials being tried for war crimes.

“It could be that the Palestinians will get caught up in the issue of the settlements, but at the same time, any Palestinian that, say, shot at Israeli civilians would also be subject to the court’s jurisdiction. Undoubtedly Israel could come up with a long list of terrorists that harmed Israelis and were never tried by the Palestinian Authority and turn it over to the court for handling.”

Another issue is whether the newly minted “Palestine” could make claims regarding incidents that occurred before it was recognized as a state. The court has jurisdiction only for claims made by UN member states.

Attorney Nick Kaufman and Prof. Daphne Richmond-Barak, both international law experts who have worked with the International Criminal Court, believe the Palestinians will certainly try. They may even ask the court to investigate incidents that occurred before 2002, which is when the court began operating, even though as a rule, such claims are not accepted, says Richmond-Barak. “The chances that Israelis will find themselves in court in the Hague will be much greater after September,” she said.

Kaufman, meanwhile, petitioned the ICC this week on behalf of the Regavim advocacy group, which asked the court to reject the request by the Palestinians in 2009 to investigate events pertaining to Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

Regavim argues that the Palestinian intention to declare a state and ask for its recognition now proves that at the time they filed their request with the court, they were not a state. The court thus has no authority to respond to their request and must reject it out of hand, Regavim says.

Meanwhile, attorneys Limor Yehuda and Anne Sucio, of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, issued a position paper yesterday on the possible ramifications of the recognition of a Palestinian state on civil rights in the territories.

Yehuda disagrees with what she called the “impassioned” approach to the legal changes, including the possible involvement of the ICC.

“You must remember that Palestinian ratification of the Rome Statute [which created the ICC] will obligate them to uphold human rights − for example, to refrain from torture and avoid firing on Israeli civilians,” she said. “It is liable to increase both sides’ commitment to human rights.”

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Turkey to refer Israel's blockade of Gaza Strip to The Hague

2011-09-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

Turkish FM says Ankara intends to appeal International Court of Justice as soon as next week, following its rejection of the UN Gaza flotilla report, which stated that the blockade on the coastal enclave was legal.

By Barak Ravid

Turkey intends to appeal the International Court of Justice in The Hague as soon as next week in order to probe the legality of Israel's naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday, following Turkey's rejection of a United Nations report on Israel's 2010 raid of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

The already strained diplomatic ties between Israel and Turkey took a dramatic turn for the worse on Friday, when Turkey announced the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador in the wake of Israel's continued refusal to apologize for the IDF raid which resulted in the death of nine Turkish nationals.

Turkey also announced its rejection of the Palmer omission report's finding according to which Israel's blockade of the coastal enclave was legal, with Davutoglu saying that Turkey could not "accept the blockade on Gaza."

"We cannot say that the blockade aligns with international law," he said, adding that the stance taken by the Palmer Commission Report was the author's "personal opinion, one which does not correspond with Turkey's position."

Speaking in an interview with Turkish station TRT on Saturday, Davutoglu said that Ankara was preparing to appeal the international court in The Hague, reiterating the official Turkish position which rejects the finds of the Palmer Commission report.

He added that Ankara was planning to initiate the Hague appeal as soon as next week, saying: "We are bound by the International Court of Justice. We say that the ICJ decides."

The Turkish FM also indicated that the flotilla raid was the first time Turkish civilians had been killed by a foreign army, adding: "We cannot remain silent in the face of that."

"If Israel persists with its current position, the Arab spring will give rise to a strong Israel opposition as well as the debate on the authoritarian regimes," he said.

The Turkish FM's announcement came after Turkish officials told the Hurriyet Daily News that Ankara was also planning to take military action to enforce its interpretation of the blockade, saying that the Turkish navy will significantly strengthen its presence in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

"The eastern Mediterranean will no longer be a place where Israeli naval forces can freely exercise their bullying practices against civilian vessels," a Turkish official was quoted as saying.

As part of the plan, the Turkish navy will increase its patrols in the eastern Mediterranean and pursue "a more aggressive strategy."

According to the report, Turkish naval vessels will accompany civilian ships carrying aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Another goal of the plan is to ensure free navigation in the region between Cyprus and Israel. The region includes areas where Israel and Cyprus cooperate in drilling for oil and gas.

Additionally, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed his foreign ministry to organize a trip for him to the Gaza Strip in the near future.

"We are looking for the best timing for the visit,” a Turkish official was quoted as saying. “Our primary purpose is to draw the world’s attention to what is going on in Gaza and to push the international community to end the unfair embargo imposed by Israel.”

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Israel fears Gaza flotilla activists may try to kill IDF soldiers

2011-06-27T16:29:00.002-05:00

Bibi and his gang are sick Bastards.

Senior Israeli officials receive information that activists are bringing chemical substances to use against soldiers; extremists participating in flotilla have said they intend to 'shed the blood of IDF soldiers.'

By Barak Ravid

Senior officials in Jerusalem said Monday that Israel has received information that organizers of the Gaza flotilla may be bringing chemical substances on the ships to use against Israeli soldiers to prevent them from boarding the ships.

The senior officials also said that Israel had been notified that several extremists among the Gaza flotilla participants had recently claimed that they intend on “shedding the blood of IDF soldiers.”

Moreover, despite earlier reports, it seems that activists from the Turkish organization IHH, which was involved in the deadly IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara in last year’s Gaza flotilla, will be joining several of the ships sailing for Gaza as part of the flotilla.

Israeli officials claim that two activists participating in the flotilla have connections to Hamas. They named the first one as Amin Abu Rashad, who they claim is one of the head Dutch organizers for the Gaza flotilla and had served in the past as the head of the Hamas’ Charitable Foundation in Holland. The foundation closed down following Dutch authorities’ probe into its involvement in funding terror activities.

The second activist is Mohammed Ahmed Hanon, which Israel claims is a Hamas activist who stands at the head of the ABSPP, which is involved in transferring funds to terrorists.

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A moment before boarding the next flotilla

2011-06-27T03:21:00.001-05:00

I’d rather use my influence and power, in concert with other members of American civil society, to actively and nonviolently resist policies I consider abominable.

By Gabriel Matthew Schivone

You might wonder what would motivate a Jewish American college student to participate in what may be the most celebrated - and controversial - sea voyage of the 21st century, one that aims to nonviolently challenge U.S.-supported Israeli military power in the occupied territories. I simply cannot sit idle while my country aids and abets Israel's siege, occupation and repression of the Palestinians. I would rather use my personal influence and power, in concert with other members of American civil society, to actively and nonviolently resist policies that I consider abominable. So, next week, I and more than 30 other American civilians will be sailing on the U.S. ship the Audacity of Hope, to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

I am one of a growing number of young American Jews who are determined to shake off an assumed - and largely imposed - association with Israel. Prominent advocacy organizations, such as the American Jewish Committee, which proudly proclaim their unconditional support of Israel, for several years have been declaring their "serious concern" over the increasing "distancing" of young American Jews from the state.

But what Israel apologists like the AJC view as a crisis, I see as a positive development for American Jews, who, like other parts of U.S. society, are shifting from blind support for Israel to a more critical position that reflects opposition to our country's backing for Israel's policies.

If Israel's apologists in the U.S. are alarmed by a falling off in unconditional support for Israel, they should be even more concerned that such a diverse range of youth - especially young Jews - are joining up with constituencies that actively organize against America's role in the occupation. Today, the so-called crisis has expanded from the coasts to such places as Arizona. It probably was just a matter of time before a Jewish anti-occupation group emerged in my home state, given that a fairly substantial portion of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter on the University of Arizona campus (in Tucson ) were Jewish. For our part, we Jews launched an initial chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace at the UA campus in spring 2010 - one of nearly 30 JVP chapters throughout the country, which has a mailing list of 100,000 - and thereafter branches in the general Tucson and Northern Arizona communities, and at Arizona State University, in Phoenix.

Through JVP, I discovered there were a great many others like me, who were experiencing profound internal conflicts regarding Israel. They included people who had been intimidated from expressing public criticism of Israel, and others who were afraid to speak out in defense of Palestinian rights for fear of being labeled anti-Semitic.

It was clear that a campus JVP opened up a powerful, organic outlet through which Jewish students could safely exchange and process - without fear, intimidation or a need for self-censorship - their critiques, concerns, ideas, knowledge, questions, discoveries and plans to promote achievement of a genuinely mutual peace in Palestine/Israel. Before JVP came along, it wasn't possible to have an open discussion, or feel that we as Jews had an alternative to either unquestioning support of Israel (the status quo ) or staying silent and thus supporting it by default. I myself was silent and timid for much too long.

We are committed to acting out of Jewish ethical traditions, while holding Israel to the same standard as any other state in the international system - no more, no less. Before JVP, there was nothing on my campus that was critical of Israel from an American Jewish perspective. Zero. The group's success demonstrated that young Jews - moved by their cultural or religious values, which include a belief in universal human rights - have been on campus all the while, ready and willing to join a human rights-based cause for justice in Palestine/Israel. All it took to gain support on campus and elsewhere in the state was a potent sprinkling of opportunity, initiative and political will.

In Athens, as I write, waiting to board the Audacity of Hope, I am wearing a Star of David amulet around my neck, which was given to me the night before I left Arizona by a dear friend and fellow JVP organizer. She got it from a silversmith in Haifa while on a "Birthright" trip as an adolescent. For her, it had always been the reminder of the crude brainwashing she felt she had encountered on that trip. But when she came across the star recently, she decided it might be put to good use if I were to wear it on my journey. And so that's what I'm doing.

I wear it as a symbol of the basic values of Judaism that I feel are not emphasized sufficiently today: the imperative to welcome the stranger as you would want to be welcomed; and of helping to free the slave from a bondage that you would not wish to suffer.

As a consequence of various nonviolent actions undertaken all over the world, led crucially by Palestinians on the ground, the Israeli occupation will one day end. Those of us who face up to the unavoidable choice of either tolerating or resisting these crimes will determine how long the death and suffering of mainly Palestinian noncombatants continues, and how long a lasting peace in Palestine/Israel remains out of reach.

Gabriel Matthew Schivone is a Chicano-Jewish American from Tucson, and coordinator of Jewish Voice for Peace at the University of Arizona.

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Violent dispersal of a demonstration in a-Nabi Saleh 13.5.2011

2011-06-16T16:20:00.005-05:00

On Friday, 13.5.2011, Border Police officers dispersed the protesters with severe violence even though the protesters did not throw stones or endanger the security forces in any way. During the breaking up of the protest, documented by B’Tselem volunteers Bilal Tamimi and Nariman Tamimi, Border Police officers beat protesters with their hands and with clubs, kicked them, swore at them, sprayed several people with pepper spray and arrested three female protesters using disproportionate force.

Freedom for Palestine - OneWorld

2011-06-09T17:57:00.004-05:00

A campaign song, to be released early next month, called Freedom For Palestine, is already kicking up a row.
It's a compilation number, along the lines of Feed The World or Free Nelson Mandela, and its artists include Dave Randall of Faithless, Maxi Jazz and the Durban Gospel Choir. Images from the West Bank and Gaza, along with the separation barrier, are featured in the video.
Its lyrics refer to catastrophes, refugees, crimes against humanity, prison camps, occupation, human rights and justice. "We are the people and this is our time, stand up, sing out for Palestine," goes the refrain.

Palestine campaign song generates controversy ahead of release

Israeli Geography 101

2011-05-27T02:59:00.000-05:00

Listening to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress the other day, I wrote this musical response.

For a long time now, every time I hear an Israeli patriot or apologist complaining that such-and-such a group or government won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state, I always wonder -- even if there is a good reason the Christians, Muslims and atheists of Palestine should live under some form of Jewish rule, how does one go about recognizing the legitimacy of a state that itself won't disclose exactly what its borders are? How does that work? Nobody seems to know. Ask the next Israeli you meet and see what they say. Where are your country's borders?

Israeli Geography 101

Netanyahu is in a tizzy, his eyes are filled with hate
He said the problem with those Arabs is they won't recognize a Jewish state
He said those Palestinians just won't come around
To accepting Jewish rule on their holy ground
He said the Arabs don't accept their new neighbors in the 'hood
Those ungrateful regimes don't respect us as they should
Well I don't want to upset anyone or to unduly take to task
But if a state wants recognition it seems reasonable to ask
Where are your borders drawn in black and white?
Do they include the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights?

I heard him speaking to the Congress, getting his 29th standing o
He said we need our security from those terrorists, don't you know
If you want security, I wonder if you'd say it's true
That the Palestinians should have security too
'Cause if you want security it seems only fair
That you should also grant it to the people over there
And maybe you could answer, though the question is a sin
Just where your country ends and your neighbors' lands begin
Tell me, where are your borders drawn in black and white?
Do they include the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights?

He said we're the only democracy in the Middle East
Or actually, he said, the only viable one at least
The PA isn't viable 'cause they didn't vote Abbas
They voted for those terrorists that they call Hamas
So we can't recognize them -- though we wish they would agree
That we stole their land quite fairly here by the Mediterranean Sea
We stole it fair and square -- we stole it just like you
If you don't like you're an anti-Semite -- whether you're a Muslim or a Jew
OK, right. But tell me -- where are your borders drawn in black and white?
Do they include the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights?

Israel to Turkey: Help us thwart upcoming Gaza flotilla

2011-04-12T17:28:00.001-05:00

Israel's ambassador to Turkey reiterates Jerusalem's opposition to the naval 'provocation,' says Israel would allow the pass of humanitarian aid through other channels.

By Barak Ravid

Israel contacted Turkey concerning a Gaza aid flotilla planned for May of this year, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, reiterating Israel's objection to a breaking of Gaza's naval blockade and its willingness to transfer aid to the Strip via legal channels.

The message came amid a Channel 2 report claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was mulling the possibility of allowing the flotilla to reach Gaza if flotilla organizers agreed their vessels be checked by an international force.

Security officials and the Foreign Ministry have been preparing feverishly for the expected arrival of another Gaza flotilla in late May. More than 1,000 leftists and pro-Palestinian activists are expected to take part in the flotilla, which sources say will include more than 20 vessels of various sizes.

Drawing lessons from the controversy over the raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship last May, and from the recommendations made after the investigation of the incident by the Turkel commission, Israeli officials are preparing in advance for another such protest at sea.

In recent weeks, Jerusalem has engaged in a large-scale diplomatic effort aimed at pressuring heads of states in countries from which ships are expected to sail, to discourage their citizens from taking part.

The hope is that such an effort will head off a large-scale "sequel" to last year's flotilla. Furthermore, in the event that another military raid is called for, this time Israel wants to be able to claim that every possible effort was made to stop the ships peaceably.

In an interview to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet on Tuesday Israeli ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy said that Jerusalem had commenced talks with the Turkish government in an attempt to thwart the planned flotilla, saying that Israel had passed on the message that the flotilla was a "provocation" and must be stopped.

The Israeli envoy also said he met the general director of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, where he conveyed a similar message in person.

Levy reiterated that Jerusalem did not see any problem with the legal passing of humanitarian aid to the Hamas-ruled Strip, something that the Turkish Red Crescent was already doing.

Israel's ambassador to Ankara said that the missive Israel sent out to Turkey did not indicate whether or not the flotilla would be stopped by force, saying: "Our position in this matter is known and international law allows us to intervene if the ships pose a security threat."

Levy also said that Israel had already appealed several countries in the matter, including Greece, the United States, and Frace.

The Cyprus-headquartered international Free Gaza movement and other pro-Palestinian organizations plan to send more than 15 ships to Gaza.

A government briefing concerning with the planned flotilla held earlier Tuesday indicated that Israel's policy concerning the event has not changed, saying that that ships would be stopped by force if indeed they sailed to Gaza.

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Nobody mentions the Jewish Brotherhood

2011-02-07T11:45:00.000-06:00

Israelis bemoan the alleged rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, ignoring their own local variety

While Israelis pay plenty of attention to the fear of the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, they steadfastly ignore the rise of the Jewish brotherhood in their own country.

The motto of the MB is “Islam is the solution”: faced with the failure of modernity in the Arab world, they want to step back into an imagined past of a pure Islamic rule – Sunni Islamism, of course. This interpretation of Islamic history has little relation to Islamic rule as it was in fact.

The Jewish Brotherhood, which uses widespread slogans such as “Jehova is the King” and “Return the Crown to its old glory”, address a much more mythical world: No “pure” Jewish regime ever existed. The very short years of independence in Judea – under the Hasmoneans – were run under a purely Hellenistic fusion of the rule of a king (who was, in Hellenistic and Roman propriety but hardly a Jewish one, also the high priest) and a council of notables, the Sanhedrin. Many of the Hasmonean kings relied on the Sadducees rather than on the Pharisees, who would give birth to rabbinical Judaism as we know it.

The rabbis would, in later ages, almost completely remove the hated Hasmoneans from history – the references to them in the Talmud would fill a very short brochure – and imagine their own independent government. It still has a king, but he was playing a decidedly second fiddle to the rabbis. And since the marking sign of Jewish thought from Talmudic days onwards was fanatical hatred of non-Jews (to whom they referred as “goyim”, similar to the Hellenistic/Roman usage of “Barbarian”), the future Jewish kingdom was supposed to be free of non-Jews, unless those who would either be subservient to the Jews, or would accept a version of Jewish law (“The laws of the sons of Noah”).

The Jewish state coming into being in 1948 was, as far as many Jewish fanatics thought, a total failure. It was the result of distinctly foreign ideologies, running the gamut between socialism and eastern European nationalism. Neither was particularly interested in Jewish law. The nationalists would show respect to its symbols – wearing the yarmulka when appropriate, held a kiddush from time to time – but would recognize the full monstrosity of Jewish law as their guide to life.

As a result, terrorist groups of ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox-nationalists abounded in the earlier days of the state; the famous if such terrorists was Mordechai Eliyahu, later to become Chief Rabbi and the father of Shmuel Eliyahu, the main engine of current ultra-Orthodox nationalism. Their purpose was to bring down the pseudo-democracy of the 1950s – Israel still held its Arab citizens under military law – and create, in its stead, a theocratic state.

They failed to win support. And, like the extremists among the MB, the Jewish right adopted terrorism as a tool. Jewish terrorists killed mostly non-Jews, but they put Jews in their sights, as well: Emil Grunzweig in 1983; Yizhak Rabin in 1995; The attempt by Ohad Bart, a Bnei Akiva (right wing Jewish Scouts) guide and later a National Unity Knesset candidate, to run minister Yossi Sarid off the road and into an abyss in 1996 (two months after the assassination of Rabin); The attempt by Chabad member Harry Shapiro on Shimon Peres’ life in Jacksonville in 1997; and various less deadly attacks, from the defacement of offices of human rights organizations and leftist organizations to arson.

Terrorism failed, as did rebellion. During the disengagement of 2005 – the removal of Jewish settlements from Gaza – there was a widespread attempt to bring about a revolt. I once interviewed the spokesman of the Yesha Council – the mainstream settler organization – about the focal point, the clash in Kfar Maimon, where Sharon forced the army to stand its ground and bring the revolt down. “They had tanks. They had gunship helicopters,” he told me. “Gunships! What could we be expected to do against that?” The Council was under attack by more radical settlers for not doing enough. I guess it’s a good thing the IDF brought along something heavier than jeeps.

Following the failure of the revolt, the movement’s ideologues – particularly Elyakim Levanon – began talking of taking over the establishment: more officers in the IDF, more “Emuniim” (“people of faith”) in every nook and cranny of the regime. It’s rather easy to identify religious reactionaries: the litmus test is their attitude towards women’s rights. Levanon forbade women from running in the elections for his settlement’s leadership (Hebrew), reminding them that Jewish law forbids “granting office to women.” His rabbinical position was strong enough to enforce the ruling.

Like the Muslim Brotherhood, whose basic assumption is that the first process towards a return to the glory days is cleansing society of non-Islamic elements, the Jewish Brotherhood always claimed that non-Jews ought to be removed from Jewish society. In this, they enjoyed wide support from most of Israeli Jewish society, which was always racist to the bone (a vast majority of Orthodox Jews in Israel consider a family member marrying a non-Jew to be a blot on the family’s honor). This process reached new peaks during the last few years.

About a year ago, some hitherto unknown group in Safed started demanding (Hebrew) employers sign their non-Jewish workers to a pledge to keep the “laws of the Sons of Noah” – i.e. recognize their subservience to Jewish law. By no accident, Safed is the town of Shmuel Eliyahu. The initiative spread to other towns. Then came Eliyahu’s ruling, forbidding renting apartments to non-Jews, which led to the “Rabbis’ Letter,” signed by more than 300 Israeli rabbis. Immediately afterward we were hit with the “assimilation” hysteria: The Rabbis Wives’ letter (apparently they’re denied political office, but are allowed carefully-vetted political expression), a ruling by the rabbi of Rosh Ha’Ayin forbidding the employment at Jewish women and Arab men in the same workplace; and the blood libel that Arab witches brew seduction potions, made of rabbits, to be used against Jewish females, particularly Orthodox ones (I shit you not; Hebrew).

The last few weeks have seen an acceleration: the LHVH organization, which focuses on “the danger of assimilation”, produced a new sort of kosher certificate - one noting the business employs no non-Jews – and it seems to be doing brisk business (Hebrew). Soon, MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) will use the podium of the Women’s Promotion Committee of the Knesset to hold a debate on the “perils of women assimilating” – i.e. promote the standard racist libel that “they” are trying to ravish “our” women, and grant it the imprimatur of the Knesset. I mean, if the Knesset debates it, it must exist, no?

It should be noted that Israeli law already fights interfaith marriages: A Jew and a non-Jew (as well as any Muslim trying to marry a non-Muslim) cannot marry in Israel, which stubbornly refuses to permit civil marriages and leaves standing the formation of the old Turkish Millet, or religious sect. An Israeli Jew wishing to marry a non-Jew is forced to marry abroad.

And, soon enough, his or her partner won’t be able to work alongside Jews, and she (or he) will be severely rebuked by the Knesset for defiling all that is holy in Judaism. So, once again – which of the two is nearer power, the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, or the Israeli Jewish Brotherhood?

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'Mubarak to announce he'll step down after next election'

2011-02-01T14:48:00.000-06:00

NOT GOOD ENOUGH. MUBARAK NEEDS TO LEAVE NOW. TO HELL WITH WHAT ISRAEL AND THE US THINKS.

Al Arabiya TV reported that Egypt's embattled president will address protesters on Tuesday to tell them he intends to stay in office until next elections to enforce reforms.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will say in a televised speech that he will step down at the next election but would stay in office till then to meet demands of protesters in that period, Al Arabiya TV reported on Tuesday.

It sourced the news to unnamed reports.

It said the president would make the comments in a speech later on Tuesday.

Anti-government riots throughout Egypt have continued unabated for eight days with protesters saying that the demonstrations won't stop until Mubarak ends his 30-year reign over the country.

The embattled president has tried to appease protesters by demanding that his cabinet resign and electing new officials in their place.

The next presidential election is scheduled for September. Until now, officials had indicated Mubarak, 82, would likely run for a sixth six-year term of office or in another scenario, that he is grooming his son Gamal to take over the office in his place.

The government's opposition, embracing the banned Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood, Christians, intellectuals and others, began to coalesce around the figure of Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate for his work as head of the UN nuclear agency.

ElBaradei said on Tuesday Mubarak must leave Egypt before the reformist opposition would start talks with the government on the future of the Arab world's most populous nation.

"There can be dialogue but it has to come after the demands of the people are met and the first of those is that President Mubarak leaves," he told Al Arabiya television.

Mubarak sacked his cabinet on Saturday after days of unprecedented demonstrations, appointing former air force chief Ahmed Shafiq as his new prime minister. But Shafiq has yet to name his cabinet.

While the embattled president has said that he would press reforms through with the new government, he has made it clear that he has no intention of leaving office.

Mubarak has not received the world-wide support that he may have expected in the wake of the riots which have left a reported 100 dead and over 1,000 injured.

Although the United States, a strong ally of Egypt, has been careful not to take sides, the White House has called for fair and free elections in response to the unrest.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs dismissed Mubarak's move to appoint a new government, saying the situation in Egypt calls for action, not appointments.

"This is not about appointments, it's about actions," Gibbs said. "Obviously there is more work to be done ... The way Egypt looks and operates must change," Gibbs said.

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ARABS KEEP OUT! ISRAEL LAYS CLAIM TO ALL THE RESOURCES

2011-01-21T14:12:00.000-06:00

by Manlio Dinucci

For years, various companies have been exploring the hydrocarbon deposits in the Levantine Basin, but only a handful of political and economic leaders were privy to the size of the prize. On 29 December 2010, the Israeli authorities gave Noble Energy Inc. the green light to release the news. The communication, announcing that exploitation was taking off after a political freeze, has been coupled with a diplomatic campaign to allow Tel Aviv to siphon off all the reserves to the detriment of the other coastline states.

U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc. recently announced a massive natural gas field discovery, located 130 kilometers offshore of Haifa [1] and consisting of an estimated 450 billion cubic meters. Resources in the surrounding area should total some 700 billion cubic meters. Exploration and exploitation are overseen by an international consortium composed by U.S. company Noble Energy Inc., currently the largest shareholder with a 40% stake, plus Israeli enterprises Delek, Avner and Ratio Oil Exploration [2]

This accounts for only a small part of the energy reserves abounding in the Levantine basin, which comprises Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and their territorial waters. According to U.S. Geological Survey, a U.S. Government agency which has been prospecting in the region for several years, the natural gas deposits in the basin consist of approximately 3 500 billion cubic meters, while the oil reserves have been assessed at 1,7 billion barrels.

The Israeli government, with Washington’s backing, considers it is entitled to all the energy reserves. Israeli national infrastructure minister Uzi Landau declared that the large natural gas fields would not only bring economic benefits to Israeli citizens but could also transform Israel into a gas supplier in the Mediterranean region. However, objected Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri, Israel is disregarding the fact that according to the maps the fields stretch into Lebanese territorial waters. The United Nations Convention stipulates that a coastal state may exploit offshore gas and oil reserves within a zone extending 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the shore.

According to the sample principle, the reserves belong in great measure also to the Palestinian Authority. From the map drawn up by the U.S. Geological Survey itself, it emerges that the major portion of the gas deposits (around 60%) lie in the waters and territory belonging to Gaza. Exploitation rights were granted by the Palestinian Authority to a consortium formed by British Gas and its partner Consolidated Contractors (based in Athens and owned by two Lebanese families), of which 10% is held by the Palestinian Authority.

Two wells, Gaza Marine-1 and Gaza Marine-2 are ready but not operational. In fact, Tel Aviv has systematically rebuffed all the proposals from the Palestinian Authority and the consortium to export gas to Israel and Egypt. Therefore, the Palestinians possess vast riches which they are unable to exploit.

To seize the totality of the energy reserves – both Palestinian and Lebanese – bathing in the Levantine Basin, Israel has chosen the military option. The Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Ali al-Shami recently urged the UN Secretary General to prevent Israel from exploiting the offshore energy reserves located in Lebanese territorial waters. Minister Uzi Landau claimed instead that the reserves are in Israeli waters and warned that his country will not think twice about employing force to protect them. Israel has therefore threatened to attack Lebanon again, like it did in 2006, with the intention this time of impeding it from exploiting its offshore deposits [3].

It is for the same reason that Israel does not accept a Palestinian state. To do so would imply the recognition of Palestinian sovereignty over a large portion of the energy reserves, which Israel wants to grab. It was to this end that the 2008-2009 “Cast Lead Operation” was launched and Gaza caught in the clutches of the blockade. Meanwhile, Israeli war ships control the whole of the Levantine Basin – and hence the offshore oil and gas reserves – within the framework of the NATO-sponsored “Mediterranean Dialogue” to “contribute to the security and stability of the regi

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Turkey PM: Netanyahu has worst government in history of Israel

2011-01-13T08:17:00.000-06:00

Erdogan tells Al-Jazeera that Lieberman is Israel's 'greatest problem' and urges the Israeli public to 'get rid' of him; he also denies Western definition of Hamas as a terrorist movement and declares peace impossible until they are brought into negotiations.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyep Recep Erdogan on Thursday decried Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government as the "worst" in the history of Israel.

The once close ties between Israel and Turkey began faltering following the war in Gaza two years ago and spiraled to an unprecedented low following Israel's deadly raid on a Turkish-flagged aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip last May.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Erdogan said that Turkey would uphold the chill in relations until Israel relented in its refusal to apologize for the raid and compensate the families of the nine pro-Palestinian activists killed aboard the Mavi Marmara.

"As long as Netanyahu's government does not change its policies, it cannot expect us to change ours," Erdogan told Al-Jazeera.

Erdogan added that Turkey had no interest in renewing any of the accords it had signed with Israel and would also consider refreshing relations once Israel acceded to its demands.

Erdogan also deemed Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman Israel's "greatest problem", reacting to the latter's remarks that Turkey's demands for apology were cheeky ("chutzpah"). The Turkish premier told interviewers that the Israel public should "get rid" of Lieberman, who he called a "despicable" man.

"It is up to them, not us" to unseat Lieberman, said Erdogan, adding: "If they don't, Israel's problems will only get worse."

Erdogan also voiced support for the Hamas rulers of Gaza and denied the Western definition of the group as terrorists.

"Hamas is not a terrorist movement. They are people defending their land. It is a movement that entered the elections and won," he declared, adding that the group has never been given the chance to rule as a democratic regime.

The Turkish premier added that Hamas must be brought into negotiations for a permanent settlement to the conflict, declaring that without their input Palestinian-Israel peace was impossible.

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Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War ll

2011-01-08T21:04:00.000-06:00

Posted January 7, 2011 by Patrick Mac Manus in International.

It has been said “the story of Albania’s Muslims, and what they did during World War II, is one of the great untold stories of the world.” In recent years, these private heroisms have been revitalized through the lens of Jewish-American photographer Norman H. Gershman and his collected images and oral histories that make up the travelling portrait exhibit called Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War II.

The story is quite an extraordinary one. When Hitler’s troops began invading the Balkan States in the early 1940s, Muslims across Albania took an estimated 2,000 Jewish refugees into their homes en masse and welcomed them not as refugees, but as guests.

They disguised these Jews as Muslims, took them to mosque, called them Muslim names, gave them Muslim passports, hid them when they needed to, and then ferried them to inaccessible mountain hamlets.

“In fact, Albania is the only Nazi-occupied country that sheltered Jews,” says Gershman. The Jewish population in Albania grew by ten-fold during World War II, and it became the only country in occupied Europe to have more Jews at the end of the war than at the beginning. Records from the International School for Holocaust Studies show that not one Albanian Jew or any of the other thousands of refugees were given up to the Nazis by Albanian Muslims. “They did this in the name of their religion,” Gershman says. “They absolutely had no prejudice what so ever.”

That is because these Muslims held themselves accountable to what Albanians call Besa, which is still upheld as the highest ethical code in the country. “Besa is a code of honour deeply rooted in Albanian culture and incorporated in the faith of Albanian Muslims,” the gallery explained in the show’s press release. “It dictates a moral behaviour so absolute that non-adherence brings shame and dishonour to oneself and one’s family. Besa demands that one take responsibility for the lives of others in their time of need. This Islamic behaviour of compassion and mercy celebrates the sanctity of life and a view of the other- the stranger- as one’s own close family member.”

“Most remarkably, this was all done with the consent and support of the entire country. Thousands of Jews, hidden in plain sight- everyone knew- and no one told.”

Over a five-year period that began in 2002, Gershman travelled to Albania to document these surviving Muslim families and collect their stories, both through pictures and words. A man who worked for the Albania-Israel Friendship Society carried a small notebook with the names and addresses of these Muslim families, and with that, an interpreter, a driver and an assistant, Gershman crisscrossed the country, finding these families in cities, villages, even at the end of gravel roads. Yad Vashem knew of 63 families on record, but Gershman’s trek led him to more than 150. “I travelled all through Albania and Kosovo where I met the rescuer’s children, who are in their sixties or even older, the rescuers’ widows, and in some cases the rescuer himself.” He took their portraits and began with the same question: What is your story?

“I asked them, ‘Why did you do this? What was in the Quar’an that you did this?’ They would only smile. Some of them said: ‘We have saved lives to go to paradise.”

“There was no government conspiracy, no underground railroad, no organized resistance of any kind-” Gershman said, “only individual Albanians, acting alone, to save the lives of people whose lives were in immediate danger. My portraits of these people, and their stories, are meant to reflect their humanity, their dignity, their religious and moral convictions, and their quiet courage.”

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Here’s What Israel Is Really Costing American Taxpayers

2010-12-26T02:17:00.000-06:00

By John Tiffany

IT IS OFTEN REPORTED THAT ISRAEL receives about $9.2 billion every year in the form of economic aid from the U.S. government, but there are many billions of dollars more in hidden costs and economic losses lurking beneath the surface. A recently published economic analysis concluded that U.S. support for the state of Israel has cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $3 trillion. About 60 percent of those costs (about $1.7 trillion) arose from the U.S. defense of the ever-expanding Israeli empire.

Support for the empire comes to $1.8 trillion, including special trade advantages, preferential contracts, or aid buried in other accounts.

The 1973 oil crisis cost the U.S. economy no less than $900 billion, and probably as much as $1.2 trillion. As a result of the oil embargo the U.S. government created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to “insulate Israel and the U.S. against the wielding of a future Arab “oil weapon.”

The billion-barrel SPR has cost taxpayers more than $134 billion so far. Making things worse, Israel gets “first call” on any oil available to the U.S. if Israel’s oil supply is stopped, according to an oil supply guarantee, which former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger provided Israel in 1975. The $3 trillion figure is actually too low, as it does not include the increased costs incurred during the year-long buildup to the ongoing wars against Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, in which Israel plays a significant covert role.

The higher oil prices incurred as a result of the Anglo-American campaign against Iraq were absorbed by taxpayers. Israel also has many hidden costs to the taxpayer. “Loans” made to Israel by the U.S. government invariably wind up being paid by the American taxpayer as does the interest on the money to Israel. Thus, it is reasonable to consider all government loans to Israel the same as grants. Israel has received over $42 billion in waived loans.

In addition to the financial outlay, U.S. aid to Israel costs some 275,000 American jobs each year. The trade-aid imbalance with Israel is between $6 billion and $10 billion. The largest single element in the costs has been the series of oil-supply crises that have accompanied the Israeli-Arab wars and the construction of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. These have cost the U.S. $1.5 trillion, excluding the additional costs incurred since 2001.

The cost of supporting Israel increased drastically after the 1973 Israeli-Arab war. U.S. support for Israel during that war resulted in additional costs for the American taxpayer of between $750 billion and $1 trillion. When Israel was losing the war, President Richard Nixon stepped in to supply the Jewish state with U.S. weapons. Nixon’s intervention triggered the Arab oil embargo, which cost the U.S. as much as $600 billion in lost GDP and another $450 billion in higher oil import costs.

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France to send Lebanon 100 anti-tank missiles

2010-12-17T13:01:00.000-06:00

A French official tells AFP news agency that France will transfer the arms to Lebanon by the end of February, without preconditions.

By Haaretz Service

Lebanon will receive 100 anti-tank missiles from France, AFP news agency reported on Friday, quoting a French official.

The French official told the news agency that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was informed in a letter by French Premier Francois Fillon about the decision to supply Lebanon's army with 100 anti-tank missiles, to be used by Lebanon's Gazelle helicopters.

According to the official, the missiles are to be delivered to Lebanon by the end of February, and France will provide the missiles to Lebanon without any preconditions.

The United States House of Representatives expressed in August its disapproval of the deal, claiming the missiles might be used against Israel, due to the rising influence of Shiite militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In August, an Israel Defense Forces reserve battalion commander was killed in fatal clashes between Israel and the Lebanese army along the border. Following the incident Israel launched a diplomatic campaign calling on the United States and France to stop their military assistance to Lebanon. The U.S. responded by withholding from Lebanon $100 million of military aid.

However, last month the U.S. renewed its military aid to Lebanon, after the Lebanese army had made a commitment to keep track of developments on the border and to prevent funds from reaching Hezbollah.

The United States has given Lebanon approximately $400 million over the past year to purchase arms, despite Israel's objections. France has also sent a great deal of weaponry to Lebanon, including advanced anti-tank missiles.

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U.S. tightens information security in wake of WikiLeaks report

2010-11-29T12:32:00.000-06:00

White House orders restricts access to classified documents; U.S. Attorney General says probe into the source behind leak of thousands of secret cables ongoing.

By News Agencies

The White House made its first reported policy change in wake of Sunday's massive WikiLeaks report, directing government agencies on Monday to tighten procedures for handling classified information.

The new procedures would ensure "that users do not have broader access than is necessary to do their jobs effectively, as well as implementation of restrictions on usage of, and removal of media capabilities from, classified government directives," according to a directive from the Office of Management and Budget released on Monday.

Also on Monday, a top U.S. law enforcement officer said a U.S. investigation into the source behind the leaking of thousands of secret U.S. military and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks was ongoing.

"We have an active, ongoing criminal investigation with regard to this matter," Attorney General Eric Holder said, adding the probe was being carried out with the Department of Defense.

Holder added that WikiLeaks used the information it had obtained irresponsibly, as opposed to members of the press and news agencies.

“I think there's a real basis… to believe that crimes have been committed," he said.

U.S. military authorities detained Army Private Bradley Manning and in July transferred him from Iraq to the United States in connection with leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks. He was charged with unauthorized use and disclosure classified material relating to videos published by WikiLeaks.

He remained a person of interest in the WikiLeaks publication of tens of thousands of Afghan war-related documents.

Authorities have not said whether he is the suspect behind the publication of nearly 400,000 Iraq war military documents, or the release of more than 250,000 State Department cables WikiLeaks began publishing Sunday.

Manning was working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq at the time of his arrest and reportedly had access to classified material. Reports said the military had obtained evidence from his computer showing he had downloaded secret information.

Manning was reportedly able to access the documents following reforms after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, that made it easier for classified information to be shared across government agencies.

WikiLeaks has refused to identify any sources. A spokesman for WikiLeaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson, defended the release against charges that it could endanger lives around the world.

"We have gone to great lengths to scrutinize the information ... in order to redact the names of individuals who actually may be harmed by exposure," he told CNN.

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IRS Asked to Revoke AIPAC's Tax Exemption

2010-11-23T01:13:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the Internal Revenue Service received a 1,389 page filing demanding that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC's) tax exempt status be retroactively revoked. The filing, submitted by the IRmep Center for Policy and Law Enforcement, spans nearly 60 years, from the moment AIPAC's founder left the employment of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the present.

Two core charges are:

False Charitable Purpose. AIPAC has been investigated several times by the FBI and is currently in a civil suit over the ongoing acquisition and movement of U.S. government classified information. The filing argues that such activities reveal AIPAC does not function as a bona fide "social welfare" organization.
Fraudulent Application for Tax Exempt Status. AIPAC's original application for tax exempt status contains fraudulent representations and omissions. It fails to mention that AIPAC's parent organization, the American Zionist Council (AZC) was shut down by a U.S. Department of Justice Foreign Agents Registration Act order in 1962. AIPAC incorporated six weeks later and applied for tax exempt status, but failed to reveal that the majority of its startup funding came from Israel, funneled through the AZC.

Members of the public, state charity watchdogs and the law enforcement community may download and review the complaint summary at: http://www.IRmep.org/IRSAIPAC.pdf. For a DVD of the full IRS complaint and appendix, send an email and official surface mail address to info@irmep.org .

IRmep director Grant F. Smith and callers grilled IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman on National Public Radio January 1, 2010 over lax IRS enforcement toward some Israel-related nonprofits committing illegal acts overseas and violating U.S. tax laws. Shulman assured America that, "If a charity is breaking the tax law, is engaged in activities that they are not supposed to be engaged in, we certainly will go after them. Every year we pull 501(c)(3) charity status from a number of charities. We've got thousands of audits going on regarding charities, and so we don't hesitate to administer the tax laws and make sure that people are following the rules."

According to Smith, "By publicly filing this 13909 complaint with the IRS, we encourage concerned Americans and misled donors to monitor whether the IRS takes appropriate action. The clock is ticking."

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Israeli War Criminals

2010-11-18T08:09:00.000-06:00

The following information was received anonymously; presumably from a member of the Israeli Military. It was presented as follows:

Underlining the following people is an act of retribution and affront. They are the direct perpetrators, agents for the state of Israel that in Dec.- Jan. 2008- 2009 attacked scores of people in the besieged Gaza. The people listed here held positions of command at the time of the attack therefore not only did they perform on behalf of a murderous state mechanism but actively encouraged other people to do the same. They bear a distinctive personal responsibility. They range from low-level field commanders to the highest echelons of the Israeli army. All took an active and direct role in the offensive.

In underlining them we are purposefully directing attention to individuals rather than the static structures through which they operate. We are aligning people with actions. It is to these persons and others, Like them, to which we must object and bring our plaints to bear upon.

This information was pirated. We encourage people to seek out other such similar information, it is readily available in the public sphere and inside public officials' locked cabinets. This is a form of resistance that can be effectively sustained for a long while.

This project for one, has only just begun, do your bit so that this virtual list may come to bear upon the physical.

Disseminate widely.

The List

The Path to Peace in the Middle East

2010-11-16T13:04:00.001-06:00

by Michael R. Burch

The ongoing conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinians seems to be irresolvable; therefore the current "wisdom" has become that "those people" are full of "hatred" for each other and have been "fighting for thousands of years," so there is "no hope for peace." But before we wring our hands or throw them up helplessly in the air we need to consider two very important things:

(1) People who don't like each other can live together in peace, if everyone is governed by fair laws and courts. During the Holocaust, Nazis enslaved, brutalized and murdered millions of Jews in the most despicable fashion imaginable. However, once Germany lost the war and came under a system of much fairer laws and courts, Jews were able to live there safely, even though there was no sudden outpouring of affection between Germans and Jews. The same is true for the descendents of black American slaves and white slaveowners. After the United States finally abolished Jim Crow laws and kangaroo courts, millions of white Americans soon came to the conclusion that the main problem had been racism and injustice on the part of whites, not "inferiority" or "intransigence" on the part of blacks. If Israel were to establish fair, nonracist laws and courts, something very similar could happen within a relatively short period of time.

(2) Jews and Palestinians have not been "constantly at war" with each other. The New Testament records what life was like in Israel/Palestine during the first century AD, when Roman laws and courts (the famous Pax Romana) governed everyone in the region. The Bible doesn't mention any major hostilities between the Jews and Palestinians back then. Furthermore, during the Jewish Diaspora (which lasted almost 2,000 years) there were always Jews who continued to live in Palestine. For the most part, they lived in peace with their neighbors. As the great Jewish scientist and humanitarian Albert Einstein pointed out, Arabs had historically treated the Jews much more tolerantly than European Christians had. It was only when Jews began to arrive in Palestine in ever-increasing numbers, in the early 1900s, that tensions began to mount, nerves began to fray and both sides (not just the Arabs) began to get violent. And let's be honest: if millions of Jews had emigrated to Texas en masse, informing Texans that eating bacon and driving to football games on Saturday would soon be illegal, all hell would have broken loose there too.

If we consider historical facts, it is justice that leads to racial peace, not love. And this makes sense, because fair laws and courts make it too expensive to practice racism, as lawbreakers face fines, civil damages and prison terms. Once fair courts have been established, the people willing to obey just laws can live together in peace, while everyone else ends up in jail, or broke. Wherever fair laws and courts do not exist, the result is invariably racial violence on both sides, with the greater violence being on the part of the people in power (because the law and courts are skewed to favor and protect them). This is clearly the case in Israel/Palestine today. As Nobel Peace Prize laureates Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu and more than 200 Jewish humanitarian organizations have repeatedly pointed out, Palestinians have been subjected to a system of large-scale, systematic, grinding racism, injustice and apartheid. But there is hope, if only we can persuade Israel to do what Americans, Germans and South Africans did: establish justice. If we want peace with the least amount of violence possible, the first step is to establish fair laws and courts.

But how?, you may asking. Sure, it makes sense to say that fair laws and courts are necessary for peace, but what can anyone do, to encourage the leaders of Israel to do what Americans, Germans and South Africans did? I'm glad you asked! I think the answer is surprisingly simple. In fact, it can be stated in a single sentence:

We need a new U.N. resolution requiring Israel to unconditionally establish equal rights, fair laws and fair courts for every human being under its jurisdiction, whether civil or military, without exception; the courts should be subject to peer review by judges appointed by the U.N., and they should be able to set legal precedents.

Any member nation of the U.N. can submit a new resolution, so we don't have to depend on Israeli or American politicians to "do the right thing." This is the beauty of this initiative. Unfortunately to date many Israeli and American politicians have only paid lip service to their stated ideals of equal rights, freedom, justice and self-determination for all human beings. Why? Because politicians are by nature political creatures whose greatest talent "lies" in getting elected (pun intended). They are much better at saying the right things, than at doing the right things. Doing the right things in this case would cost them votes and campaign contributions, so they do what is politically expedient, rather than what is right. But my idea takes this unfortunate political reality into account and operates through the U.N., bypassing American and Israeli politicians in the early going.

The U.S. Security Council veto has blocked past efforts by the U.N. to bring peace and justice to the region. But how can the U.S. veto the American Creed of equal rights, fair laws and fair courts? So the key is a new U.N. resolution based on the American Creed.

If Israel complies, then peace through justice becomes possible, and fair courts can settle disputes over land and water "organically" over time, even if politicians can't arrive at solutions diplomatically.

If Israel does not comply, the U.N. can impose economic sanctions and in due course Israeli voters will "vote their pocketbooks" (a worldwide democratic phenomenon) and peacefully elect new leaders more amenable to peace through justice. But hopefully economic sanctions will not be necessary, once Israeli voters and politicians understand their new reality.

Yes, the problems are complex, but the correct path, the right path, the just path is obvious. And while American politicians may never voluntarily do the right thing, we really don’t need them, and they won’t have to risk their jobs. The reform of Israel must come from within, just as it did in the U.S. With my plan, one way or another the needed reforms will come. Hopefully Israel will see the "writing on the wall" and voluntarily choose to establish equal rights, fair laws and fair courts. But even if Israel has be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, just as many Americans had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th century, the results will be the same. One way or another, every nation—in order to be considered civilized—has to establish equal human rights and justice. Israel is not a "special case." The Jews are not a "special case." The Palestinians are not a "special case." And no, Americans, are not a "special case." Americans need to practice what they preach abroad, as well as at home. When we do, peace through justice will become possible, and when every nation has established fair laws and fair courts, world peace will become possible.

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IS THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT TO TOSS ISRAEL?

2010-11-13T22:48:00.000-06:00

Some opinion analysts, like the 2009 Zogby International poll of American attitudes toward Israelis and Palestinians, express surprise with what they are learning from the American public and detect significant changes in American public attitudes favoring US disengagement from Israel

Franklin Lamb
Beirut

Exclusive to Al Manar
Ever so slowly over the past two decades, and gaining momentum since the April 2002 Israeli destruction of the West Bank town of Jenin, American attitudes toward Israel appear to be changing according to some public opinion analysts.

The American Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy polling unit, that works on behalf of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations has argued that the American opinion shift accelerates with each perceived Israeli outrage such as the saturation bombing of much of south Lebanon and south Beirut during the July 2006 war, the massive civilian slaughter, more than one-third women and children in Gaza during the winter of 2008/9, the May 2010 murders and carnage committed against the Mavi Marmara, including the assassination of 19 year old American Furkan Dogan, and the cumulative effect of a half century of Geneva Convention and international law violations by Israel against occupied Palestine and Lebanon.

Some opinion analysts, like the 2009 Zogby International poll of American attitudes toward Israelis and Palestinians, express surprise with what they are learning from the American public and detect significant changes in American public attitudes favoring US disengagement from Israel.

Such changes in attitudes are not yet evident in Congress or in the Office of the Vice President. But then, as one of Biden’s Democratic Congressional colleagues from Cleveland Ohio, just recently reelected and now planning to force a Congressional vote on withdrawing from Afghanistan noted this week, “Joe’s a nice fella but a God awful slow learner! Cracks and fissures are shooting around and inside Joe’s great American pro Israel public opinion vase etched in gold with the words: ‘US Support for Israel Must Continue Forever!”

The NYT’s Tom Friedman seemed to concur during meetings in Israel recently: “US support for Israel could shatter like Humpty Dumpty– and it could get ugly…You are losing the American people who believe me, are fed up with the Mideast in general. But they’re also fed up with Israel. When they see their president working hard to try to tee up an opportunity. …” And you say ‘No, first pay me – let Jonathon Pollard out of jail, have Abu Mazen sing Hatikva in perfect Yiddish, and then we’ll think about testing.’ It rubs a lot of Americans the wrong way.”

Changes of US citizens attitudes toward Israel are evident in Lebanon also. Hundreds of Americans and other foreigners have visited Shatila and other Palestinian refugee Camps in Beirut in the past few years according to the Sabra Shatila Foundation that conducts tours of the camp. Many visiting Americans have been surveyed by various firms and the results mirror recent surveys from the States. Several explanations are being offered by pollsters for the developing American public opinion shift away from support for Israel.

One is the growing perception that Israel, despite its consistent claims of self defense and accidents, when it attacks and kills civilian populations, is in fact the aggressor and lacks respect for non Jewish lives.
Growing American revulsion at the increasing incidents of verbal assaults on Arabs and Muslims, and racist hate speech graffiti by the Israeli public , internet defamation by elements of the US Israel lobby, and seeming encouragement by Israeli officials and some Rabbi’s ensconced among the more than 100 illegal colonies in occupied Palestine.

Two often mentioned examples are:
1) The followers of the late Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu who regularly broadcast his calls that: “All of the Palestinians must be killed; men, women, infants, and even their beasts”.

2) And Rabbi Yizhak Shapiro, who lately published the book The King’s Torah, in which he detailed the “jurisprudence” sanctioning the killing of Palestinian infants and children. The White House has reportedly been surprised by the number of Americans objecting to, or even knowing about, these kinds of outrageous and immoral US funded extremists that has been going on for half a century.

Americans are becoming weary of Israel constantly moving the goal post in the “peace negotiations ” and Israeli officials undercutting the American President and flaunting their power in Congress and using the US-Israel lobby and media juggernaut to ridicule him. When Obama condemns Israeli settlement building and calls for suspension, within days, Israel often announces more settlement construction, often claiming mere coincidence.
A growing belief among the American public that Israel takes the US for granted and is only interested in its own economic and military benefits at American expense. Just this week, President Obama criticized Israel for announcing another stage in the approval process of 1,300 housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze’ev and Har Homa. He warned: “This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations. I’m concerned that we’re not seeing each side making the extra effort involved to get a breakthrough.”
Israel’s reaction was immediate, condemnatory and harsh. Knesset Members as well as AIPAC staff attacked President Obama, saying that he is ignoring the reality of Israel’s needs in Jerusalem.

MK Avi Dichter, told the Jerusalem Post that the American people are smart enough to “understand that there is no chance that Jerusalem will return to the 1967 borders. But they are either not smart enough or still don’t understand that the most sensitive part of the negotiations is Jerusalem. For their President to deal with Jerusalem at the beginning of negotiations is a recipe for failure.”

Bar Ilan University professor Ehud Gilboa added that he does not think Obama will “lay off” Israel in the near future. “I believe he has an obsession with Israel. He will want to get the talks between Israel and the Palestinians going only because he wants to be remembered in history as the one who is signed on the peace agreement. We expect him to be a one term President and I don’t think he warrants being taken seriously.”

More Americans appear to be tiring of Israeli officials telling them they don’t understand how to view Israeli land confiscations, ethnic cleansing and use of American cash and weapons.

One poll conducted during October 2010 of Americans living in Beirut asked about Israeli PM Netanyahu calling the United Nations’ Goldstone Report “a modern day blood libel.”

Only 4% of the Americans believed this. But 85% believed that Israel manipulates this term and also the Nazi crimes against Jews during WW II to justify its occupation and treatment of Palestinians.

Opinion analysts at Rasmussen Polls Delaware believe changes in US public attitudes are also due to the collapsing American economy. The US public is getting angry, loud and distressed. Perhaps always a little paranoid, it is more despondent and pessimistic.

Americans have generally believed in the country’s capacity for regeneration, that a new awakening is possible at any time. Now, 63 percent of Americans don’t believe that they will be able to maintain their current standard of living. American companies like Apple and Coca-Cola, Google and Microsoft are putting their money, not in the US but in Asia, where labor is cheap and markets are growing. The US government’s debt now exceeds 90 percent of the gross domestic product and more than half of all Americans don’t believe that the America Dream is still realistic but rather that their country is dysfunctional and its Congress corrupt.

It is not sure how the Tea Party will ultimately view Israel being given annually a total of approximately $ 5 billion and then investing approximately 60% of it in interest bearing accounts while every penny of the US taxpayer money it gets must be borrowed by Washington with US taxpayers paying the interest on cash gift to Israel.

Isolationism and xenophobia are on the rise with growing numbers of Americans unhappy with what they see as Israeli “shenanigans at US taxpayer expense”, according to a Congressional staffer recently warned about speaking out against US aid to Israel to fellow staffers during a recent ‘brown bag’ lunch in the Cannon Congressional House Office building cafeteria.

The same source explained: “ We’ve got two criminal wars, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, that have cost this country, in real terms more than two trillion. The government debt continued to grow, from 57 percent of GNP in 2000 to 83 when Obama got elected and the national debt of $13.8 trillion and growing by the hour. That amounts to 94 percent of GNP, and in two years it will exceed 100 percent. We can’t afford Israel financially and never could afford them morally, politically or what they have done with American weapons!”.

Likely Republican Majority leader Eric Cantor, one of the three key leaders of the Israel lobby in Congress is reportedly terrified that the Tea Party will insist, as rumored, on enacting Legislation that terminates foreign aid of all kinds if the U.S. unemployment level rises above 4-percent. Consideration would be given to restarting foreign aid when the unemployment level drops below 4-percent and remains below 4-percent for 12 months. Cantor must figure out how to protect Israel’s cash with having the Tea Party come after him. It may be recalled that Cantor is floating an AIPAC scheme to take US funds of Israel out of Foreign Aid and call it “Homeland Security” expenditures, “ in order to save it from foreign aid cutting zealots.”

Public opinion analysts are increasingly seeing that the American public wants to distance itself from Israel. But it is unlikely that Congress will, in the short term, follow the public’s lead. This conclusion is supported by the just passed congressional amendments that authorized the increase of U.S. weaponry, ammunition and war supplies stored in Israel to a record $1.2 billion, Defense News reported this week.. The value of U.S. weapons to be prepositioned in Israel will reach $1 billion in 2011, with another $200 million added in 2012.

Once the weaponry arrives, the amount of U.S.-owned materiel available for Israel’s emergency use will have jumped threefold since 2007. Over the past two years, logisticians and war planners from U.S. European Command and the Israel Defense Forces elevated war stocks to the then Congressionally authorized threshold of $ 800 of equipment. Ready for Israel’s next war against Lebanon or Syria or Iran-or all three countries.

One pro-Israel group dismayed by the shift in American public opinion is the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which sounded the alarm this week at the Canadian governments sponsored Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism (ICCA) held at Parliament in Ottawa “to inspire parliamentary action against anti-Semitism around the world.”

Fifty countries from six continents sent delegations to help combat what ADL’s Abe Foxman, claims is a dangerous softening of US public opinion for Israel. The conference adopted an Ottawa Protocol on Combating Anti-Semitism — building on the 2009 London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism of 2009, which has built on more than 50 similar initiatives over the past 98 years since ADL was launched in 1913. ADL’s current focus, according to Christopher Wolf, who chairs ADL’s Internet Task Force on “cyber hate”, is” to take the lead and show the American public why they must stick with Israel during these days of Islamist terror against Americans and their only reliable ally, Israel.”

One of Abe Foxman’s problems is that many Americans are distancing themselves from ADL’s nonstop “fear and smear” campaigns. Another is that history, along with the American public, is accelerating its rejection of the Zionist colonial enterprise in Palestine.

Source:

In Motion: The Plot To Destroy The United States

2010-11-12T16:14:00.000-06:00

“The 2010 election had one purpose, war with Iran, even if the risk is world conflict and the real loser, no matter what happens on the battlefield is the United States.”

Plans are in motion for a “false flag” attack on America. Iran will be blamed, everyone knows that and Iran will be totally innocent. This is the last thing Iran would ever want. The most likely scenario is a nuclear attack. Two bombs are missing, bombs built by Israel in South Africa and lost long ago. These were supposedly Saddam’s bombs. Now we are told Iran has them. Israel has had them all along and the fear, they may be inside the United States already.

Read More

Israel re-arrests West Bank Deputy, Mahmoud Al-Ramahi

2010-11-10T23:58:00.000-06:00

At dawn this morning (10.11.2010), Israeli forces arrested the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Dr Mahmoud Al-Ramahi, from his West Bank home in the City of Al Bira. According to sources, heavily armed forces surrounded Al-Ramahi's home in the pre-dawn hours before storming it and taking him into custody.

The arrest has been widely condemned by both the Reform and Change bloc of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas.

The Islamist Deputies of the Council released a statement in which they stressed that Israel's actions against the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people is a testament to their sincerity and that they would continue to represent a thorn in the Occupier's side. The arrest occurs in the context of Israel's continued efforts to combat democracy and reject the outcome of Palestinian parliamentary elections. The statement went on to assert that the Occupation would achieve nothing through its re-arrest of Al-Ramahi which signifies a foolish return to a failed policy, particularly in light of the increase in popular unity and solidarity with the Deputies.

On its part, Hamas has condemned the arrest as a crime and placed full responsibility for Al-Ramahi's life and safety on the Israeli authorities. They also called for an end to the security co-ordination, which provides cover to Israel in its continued perpetration of these crimes.

The Islamist Deputies asserted that the arrest aimed at creating an atmosphere of confusion given the growing momentum for national reconciliation which would mend the rift in the fabric of the nation and unite the Palestinian people in challenging the Occupation's schemes.

They called on the international community to take an official position to limit Israel's impunity in violating the rights of the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people by criminalising the Occupation and thereby force the immediate release of the arrested Deputy as well as stop the deportation order which currently threatens four other Deputies in Jerusalem.

They also called on the Palestinian people to remain steadfast and to unite behind their legitimate representatives who remain undeterred by the Israeli practices which seek to rob them of their rights and continue to perform the office they were appointed to defend.

Source:

Jewish Extremists Try to Kill Chilean Tourist, Mistaken for Palestinian

2010-11-08T15:57:00.002-06:00

Jerusalem – PNN - Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronoth published a report on Monday about the attempted murder of a Chilean tourist in Jerusalem by eight Jewish extremists who mistook him for an Arab.

Jose Dominus Nolido, 43, came to Israel to celebrate the wedding of his son’s Jewish friend and visit holy sites. As he returned to his hotel, Nolido said he was accosted by youths.

“I decided to return to my room and I went through Independence Park,” Nolido explained. “Suddenly a youth attacked me. I thought he was a soldier, since he had on Israeli army pants. I tried to flee, but I ran into seven others. I fell on the ground and couldn’t get away from the blows. Then I lost consciousness. I was convinced they wanted to kill me because I looked like an Arab.”

Nolido was taken to a Jerusalem hospital, bleeding from the head and eyes. Doctors said they feared loss of vision in his right eye.

“They said I looked like an Arab,” he said. “I didn’t think that would cost me my life.”

Israeli police said that the assault had a “nationalist character” and that the Jewish attackers took him for an Arab or Palestinian. Five of the suspects were settlers from ultra-Orthodox areas of Jerusalem.

“I don’t think I’ll come back to Israel,” said Nolido. He explained that he knew the Israeli-Palestinian conflict well, but never thought he would be attacked because of his appearance.

Source:

JEWISH SETTLERS BURN OLD CHURCH IN JERUSALEM

2010-11-02T07:18:00.002-05:00

Group of extremist Jewish settlers set a one hundred year old Christian church on fire in Jerusalem on Friday causing substantial damage to its first floor.

Zakaria Al-Mashriqi, a leader in the church, denounced in a press release the “sinful crime” that targets destabilizing relations among heavenly religions and inciting strife in addition to expelling Palestinians from the holy city through such repeated attacks on citizens and their property.

He added that the church was built in Jerusalem in 1897, and housed the Palestinian Bible College until 1948, when parishioners were pushed out by Jewish armed gangs during the violence accompanying the creation of the state of Israel.

He said that right-wing Israeli settlers broke a number of windows of the two-storey church and hurled Molotov cocktails inside it completely burning the first floor.

Mashriqi appealed for urgent intervention to protect the holy places in Jerusalem and called on the Israeli government to act responsibly and condemn the attack, and work on investigating the attack to find out who was involved and file charges in the case.

The world community must shoulder its responsibility toward protecting the holy shrines and Palestinians in the city, he said, calling for shunning violence and for dialog among religions.

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Turkey policy paper: Israel's actions threaten Mideast

2010-10-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Ankara's National Security Council names Israel as central threat to Turkey's security for first time since 1949, fails to mention Iran, Syria.

By Haaretz Service

Turkey's already tense relations with Israel continued their apparent downward spiral on Saturday as Channel 10 reported that a central Ankara policy paper defined Israel as a central threat to Turkey's security, blaming Jerusalem's policies for destabilizing the entire region.

Tensions between Israel and Turkey peaked earlier this year, following a deadly Israeli raid aboard a Turkish aid ship sailing to Gaza in attempt to violate the Israeli naval blockade. On May 31, Israeli navy commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara and killed nine Turkish activists on board after facing violence from the passengers.

The Channel 10 report on Saturday, citing Turkish media outlets, said Turkey's National Security Council rectified an amendment to Ankara's central policy paper, nicknamed the "secret constitution," defining Israel as "a central threat to Turkey."

"The region's instability stems from Israeli actions and policy, which could lead to an arms race in the Middle East," the paper outlining Turkey's foreign and home policy for the next five years said, adding that those actions posed "a major threat on Turkey."

Channel 10 also said Turkish media dubbed the amendment "historic," as it represented the first time Israel had been seen as a threat on Turkey since 1949. The document fails to mention Iran or Syria as outside threats, apparently as a result of Ankara's recently improved relations with both states.

Earlier this month Haaretz quoted Turkish reports as expecting that, for the first time since the Cold War, Turkey to remove Iran, Iraq, Russia, and Greece from their list of "threatening countries."

The reports claimed that such a move would directly affect Turkey's foreign policy, as laid out by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmet Davutoğlu, whose goal is to rid Turkey of any problems with its neighbors.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his demand that Israel apologize for its May attack on the Gaza flotilla, saying “Israel must apologize to Turkey and pay compensation for the state terrorism in the Mediterranean."
"If it does not, it will be doomed to remain isolated in the Middle East,” Erdogan added.

The Turkish premier also criticized the United States for continuing to support Israel after the "uncivilized" attack during a recent state visit to Pakistan.

“Nine Turkish martyrs on the ship received 21 bullets from Israeli soldiers in their bodies, we provided post mortem reports and even the pictures to the EU and U.S. but Washington is not ready to condemn the state terrorism of Israel against Turkey which means that the U.S. is supporting an international terrorist who killed our citizens in international waters," Erdogan said.

Source:

US Government lies to the US-citizens all the time

2010-10-29T10:37:00.003-05:00

Since the Vietnam war, government and media have slowly become merged together in lockstep of deception. From the movie "War made Easy"

"Conversations with Terrorists"

2010-10-28T07:44:00.002-05:00

Reese Erlich: All violence against the U.S. is being defined as "terrorism"

Remembering Furkan Dogan

2010-10-26T05:36:00.002-05:00

Ralph G. Loeffler writing from Kayseri, Turkey, Live from Palestine, 18 October 2010

Furkan Dogan (http://furkan-dogan.com)

Furkan Dogan. I'm going to say Furkan Dogan so often that it will sound, as it rightly should, just as "American" as John Smith or Bill Jones. Furkan Dogan was an American, a young American of only 19 years when on 31 May a hail of Israeli bullets ended his life on the Mavi Marmara Turkish humanitarian aid ship. Furkan was filming the Israeli assault when an Israeli commando fired his first shot pointblank hitting Furkan squarely in the face. Four more shots were fired into Furkan leaving him dead and unrecognizable.

The Mavi Marmara, the largest ship of an international flotilla of six vessels that made of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, was carrying food, medicine and school supplies to the Israeli besieged Gaza Strip. The Israelis have blockaded Gaza since the Hamas government was democratically elected in 2006. For more than three weeks, in December 2008 and January 2009 the Israelis wantonly attacked Gaza destroying essential infrastructure and killing more than 1,400 citizens, a large percentage of them women and children.

Furkan, who was born in the Albany-Troy area of New York, had gone back to live in his family's hometown of Kayseri, Turkey. His family knew the names of the eight Turkish nationals who had been killed on the Mavi Marmara but one casualty had not been immediately identified. In their normal pattern of lies and misinformation the Israelis had not identified Furkan because he was an American. They waited until the initial impact of their murderous attack on innocent, defenseless humanitarians subsided a bit before confirming the ninth victim was Furkan.

When Furkan's father went to meet the Mavi Marmara's survivors and casualties he had no idea that his son had been murdered. Instead of greeting his son he was taken to the morgue to identify his remains. Surely such a day defies description.

In an immediate reaction to the Mavi Marmara massacre Viva Palestina announced plans for another humanitarian aid mission to Gaza. Viva Palestina, a UK-based charity founded by former Member of British Parliament George Galloway, launched its initial land aid convoy in March 2009 shortly after the Israeli attack ended. On 18 September 2010, four missions later, Viva Palestina 5 left the UK for Gaza.

The Viva Palestina 5 convoy arrived in Kayseri late on 29 September and spent the night on a mountain overlooking the town. We had come to Kaseyri for the sole purpose of visiting Furkan's gravesite and extending our condolences to his family. The following morning we were told that our convoy would be passing by the high school from which Furkan had graduated and that students from the school would be waiting for us. As we began our slow journey down the twisting mountain road the convoy took on the air of a funeral procession. Suddenly, there they were. The students lined both sides of the road standing for who knows how long. Each one sadly, silently, proudly held up Furkan's picture as the convoy rolled by.

Beautiful, moving words were spoken at the gravesite and afterwards we met with Furkan's family at the recently built community center named in Furkan's honor. The grandfather and uncle bore their grief perhaps with the acceptance of mortality that comes with age. But the older brother's grief was palpable. Deep, dark lines were etched under his eyes and he seemed detached from his surroundings. The despair evident on his face made a statement greater than words could ever do.

Any country should be proud to have a promising young man such as Furkan as one of its own. Intelligent and mature beyond his years Furkan had already dedicated his life to the struggle for Palestinian justice. Such a course bears no import with the US Congress, which allows for the US bankrolling of the occupation. And the Israeli thug who gunned down Furkan is no more responsible for murdering him than Furkan's own country which paid for the bullets.

Ralph G. Loeffler is an activist with the International Action Center in New York City.

Source:

Israel releases papers detailing formula of Gaza blockade

2010-10-26T02:38:00.000-05:00

Since Hamas took control of Gaza, officials have employed mathematical formulas to monitor goods from aid groups entering the Strip to ensure amount was in line with what Israel permitted.

By Amira Hass

In the three years since Hamas took control of Gaza, Israeli officials have employed mathematical formulas to monitor foodstuffs and other basic goods entering the Strip to ensure that the amount of supplies entering was neither less nor more than the amount Israel permitted, according to documents released last week.

The documents - released Thursday in response to a Freedom of Information Act petition by the non-profit group Gisha - were drafted while Amos Gilad served as interim coordinator of government activities in the territories, heading the body that checked the goods.

The formulas used coefficients and a formulation for "breathing space," a term used by COGAT authorities to refer to the number of days remaining until a certain supply runs out in Gaza, to determine allowed quantities.

In September 2007, the Israeli government ordered a tightening of the blockade on Gaza, a closure first put in place in 1991. COGAT, in conjunction with other authorities, drafted "Rules for permitting the entry of goods" and "Regulation, supervision and evaluation of supply inventories in Gaza."

Both documents were classified as drafts, but in effect served as instructions for Israeli authorities and were considered valid until a government-implemented policy change following the May raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla that left nine people dead.

Officials from COGAT, a Defense Ministry unit that coordinates activity between the government, military, international groups and the Palestinian Authority, told Haaretz that it had actually been responsible for releasing the documents, given that in the wake of the government decision the directives for keeping the files classified were no longer in force.

A high-ranking COGAT officer told Haaretz that "Regulation, supervision and evaluation of supply of inventories in Gaza" is a method of quickly identifying a shortage of any basic item in Gaza, and that despite the mathematical equations contained in the document, he had never intentionally limited the amount of goods allowed to enter, but on the contrary, verified whether inventories of certain basic supplies in Gaza were full.

The COGAT spokesman said that the regulations were formulated "based on well-known basic foodstuffs, in consultation with the Israeli Health Ministry and in consideration of family consumption habits in Gaza, as published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in 2006."

The document contained "warning lines," which were defined as "the days of [remaining] inventory beyond which the relevant official must pay attention to the deviation from reasonable norms and examine the correctness of the model."

There were two types of warning lines. The "upper warning line," which identified surpluses, was defined as an inventory exceeding 21 days for products with short shelf lives or 80 days for those with long shelf lives.

The "lower warning line," which identified shortages, was defined as an inventory of less than four days for products with short shelf lives and of less than 20 days for those with long shelf lives.

The senior COGAT official said the upper warning line was never actually used and the lower line was an important tool for identifying and averting impending shortages.

The "rules for permitting the import of goods" was drafted pursuant to a cabinet decision to restrict "the quantity and type of merchandise" entering Gaza. Its stated purpose was to define the "procedure, rules and method under which permission will be granted" for goods to enter Gaza.

These rules, the draft continued, were meant to allow in goods that would "supply the basic humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population." It then listed seven considerations to weigh when determining which goods should be permitted.

Security was one. The others were as follows:

* "The necessity of the product for meeting humanitarian needs (including its implications for public health in both the Strip and Israel )."

* "The product's image (whether it is considered a luxury )."

* "Legal obligations."

* "The impact of the product's use (whether it is used for preservation, reconstruction or development ), with an emphasis on the impact of its entry on the Hamas government's status."

* "The sensitivities of the international community."

* "The existence of alternatives."

These rules explain why, for example, imports of cloth and thread, which were considered "development" products, were barred, thereby destroying Gaza's textile industry.

The document states that many outside parties affected Israel's decisions: The Strip's needs will be determined not only by the relevant government agencies, it read, but by the Palestinian Authority, international agencies, the media and petitions to the courts by nongovernmental organizations, among others.

The third document that COGAT gave Gisha was the official list of products allowed into Gaza prior to May's botched raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

Following that raid, the list was significantly expanded. But the senior COGAT official said that even before then, the list of products actually allowed into Gaza was always longer than the written list.

Source:

VATICAN MIDEAST SYNOD ENDS WITH CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

2010-10-26T00:32:00.000-05:00

By Barbara Plett

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Israel cannot use the Biblical concept of a promised land or a chosen people to justify new settlements in Jerusalem or territorial claims, a Vatican synod on the Middle East said on Saturday.

In its concluding message after two weeks of meetings, the synod of bishops from the Middle East also said it hoped a two-state solution for peace between Israel and the Palestinians could be lifted from dream to reality and called for peaceful conditions that would stop a Christian exodus from the region.

“We have meditated on the situation of the holy city of Jerusalem. We are anxious about the unilateral initiatives that threaten its composition and risk to change its demographic balance,” the message said.

U.S.-brokered peace talks have stalled since Israel rejected appeals to extend a temporary moratorium on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank that expired last month.

Since the freeze expired, Israel has announced plans to build another 238 homes in two East Jerusalem neighbourhoods, drawing the condemnation of Palestinians and world leaders.

In a separate part of the document — a section on cooperation with Jews — the synod fathers also took issue with Jews who use the Bible to justify settlements in the West Bank, which Israel captured in 1967.

“Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable,” the document said.

Many Jewish settlers and right-wing Israelis claim a biblical birthright to the occupied West Bank, which they call Judea and Samaria and regard as a part of historical, ancient Israel given to the Jews by God.

“THERE IS NO LONGER A CHOSEN PEOPLE”
Asked about the passage at a news conference, Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, said:
“We Christians cannot speak about the promised land for the Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people. All men and women of all countries have become the chosen people.

“The concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians,” he added. “The justification of Israel’s occupation of the land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures.”

The synod’s concluding message repeated a Vatican call for Jerusalem to have a special status “which respects its particular character” as a city sacred to the three great monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Jerusalem remains a key issue of dispute. Palestinians want East Jerusalem for capital of a future state. Israel has annexed the area, a move never recognised internationally, and has declared Jerusalem to be its “united and eternal” capital.

Israel did not include East Jerusalem as part of its 10-month building freeze, though most plans there were put on hold in March, when the U.S. protested reports of a new housing project leaked during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden.

East Jerusalem was also captured by Israel in 1967.

While recognising “the suffering and insecurity in which Israelis live” and the need for Israel to enjoy peace within internationally recognised borders, the document was much more expansive and detailed on the situation of Palestinians.

It said Palestinians “are suffering the consequences of the Israeli occupation: the lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation and the military checkpoints, the political prisoners, the demolition of homes, the disturbance of socio-economic life and the thousands of refugees.”

It urged Christians in the region not to sell their homes and properties. “It is a vital aspect of the lives of those who remain there and for those who one day will return there.”

It condemned terrorism “from wherever it may proceed” as well as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and discrimination against Christians.

Source: Reuters

Freedom Flotilla song - Doc Jazz

2010-10-25T12:32:00.000-05:00

This music video is dedicated to all the brave people who set sail to break the siege of Gaza, and to the nine martyrs of the Mavi Marmara, who were brutally murdered by the Israeli navy. Hopefully this song helps to inspire more and more flotillas! Free Palestine, Free Gaza !

Words, music, performance and production: Doc Jazz
All rights reserved.

Freedom Flotilla - Doc Jazz

In the memory of those who fell
Their story we'll always tell
Heroes and martyrs for the cause of peace

In the memory of those who died
Nine names are glorified
We will continue until Gaza's release

For the mothers and children living desperately
In the largest concentration camp in history

We're sailing on the Freedom Flotilla
For the sake of justice we'll be facing the killers
We're armed with nothing but the will to bring peace
To break the siege and seal a victory

We will sail on
Sail on, Sail on
Freedom Flotilla

There will be no compromise
On the crimes that we despise
Years of siege can't break the people's will

They can sink our vessels
But we'll go on and wrestle
Against the forces who are trained to kill

For the fathers and brothers living steadfastly
In the largest concentration camp in history

We're sailing on the Freedom Flotilla
This is our fleet, our non-violent guerilla
We stand for the right of everyone to be free
And an end to crimes against humanity

We will sail on
Sail on, Sail on
Freedom Flotilla
To Gaza

IDF prosecutors chided for using testimony of mentally disabled Palestinian witness

2010-10-25T03:48:00.000-05:00

Account by young man puts resident of Palestinian West Bank village of Na'alin behind bars for nine months for a crime he did not commit.

By Amira Hass

A military judge has criticized the military prosecutor's office for relying on the testimony of a mentally challenged young man who referred to events that never took place. In doing so, the witness put a resident of the Palestinian West Bank village of Na'alin behind bars for nine months for a crime he did not commit.

The judge, Maj. Amir Dahan, acquitted Ahmed Nafa, a 29-year-old high school teacher, of all charges against him. The indictment accused Nafa of throwing stones and Molotov cocktails and rolling an Israeli car into a canal late last year. He was also indicted for being one of a group that later threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and gas canisters at an Israel Defense Forces jeep.

The indictment also said Nafa took part in an incident in which Molotov cocktails and gas canisters were thrown at an Israeli infantry unit "in or around July 2009."

The prosecution, however, failed to give evidence that these high-profile events took place. The prosecution and police investigators did not provide the court with any independent evidence other than the testimony of a mentally disabled young man, Mustafa Amira. Amira testified to the Shin Bet security service and police after several days speaking with an informer.

Amira contradicted himself during questioning several times and later said he had admitted to acts he did not commit to bring his interrogation to an end.

28 arrested

Nafa was one of 28 Na'alin residents whom the IDF arrested in January, based on Amira's testimony, in an effort to halt demonstrations in the area against the construction of the separation barrier.

Most of the detainees struck a plea agreement in the belief that their detention before trial would exceed any jail time they might receive.

Nafa, however, demanded an evidentiary hearing. In his opinion acquitting Nafa, Judge Dahan said he was surprised that despite the precision of the accusation, "the investigators did not make any effort to identify the victims or soldiers" to gather additional information.

In the cases of Nafa and three defendants accused of membership in a local village committee, the prosecution called another witness, Hamed Sarur, but Dahan discounted his testimony after finding that Sarur was promised release from detention if he "came to a mutual agreement with" his interrogators.

Dahan said such improper methods cast a shadow over the investigation. In acquitting Nafa, Dahan wrote: "It is not possible that this court would fail to employ the same minimum standards of proof of harm to persons or property that is customary in Israel even in civil cases."

Two military judges had decided to leave Nafa in custody until the end of proceedings. Nafa's lawyer, Nery Ramati, said Dahan's criticism of the prosecution and police that resulted in Nafa's acquittal was also relevant to the cases of the other defendants implicated by Amira.

Source:

Interior Ministry's Oz police unit accused of beating U.S. immigrants

2010-10-22T00:23:00.000-05:00

Their lawyer: Police yelled at them, 'Afro-Americans, kushim [darkies], we don’t need you here.'

By Bradley Burston

The Interior Ministry's controversial Oz immigration police unit has been accused of beating and verbally abusing members of an African-American family from Kansas City whose members converted to Judaism several years ago, and are living in Ashkelon pending a decision on their citizenship request.

Kristien Garrett, 24, who is seven months pregnant, was taken by ambulance to Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital after the Oz unit operation. During the operation, several officers detained her husband Sean, telling family members that his name did not appear "in the system" of the ministry's Population Registry.

Witnesses said Kristien Garrett's one-year-old daughter and Garrett's mother Trina Woodcox were struck a number of times as the officers moved to detain Garrett's husband. Sean Garrett was allegedly handcuffed, beaten repeatedly and subjected to racial slurs while in custody; he was later released when ministry officials determined that his visa was valid.

The Oz unit, which spearheads a high-profile Interior Ministry campaign to track and expel foreign nationals who lack valid permits to remain in Israel, admitted to having detained a family member in error, but denied allegations of use of physical force. It countered that family members had attacked them with "cursing and swearing."

The family had come to Israel at the invitation of the Interior Ministry, which asked to interview them prior to a final decision on their request for immigrant status. Ministry officials held a hearing on their case last month, a step in the process toward receiving citizenship.

When Woodcox, who held the family's documents, asked to accompany Sean Garrett in the police van, "officers grabbed her by her hair and her head, and pulled her by her leg," dragging her out of the vehicle, Kristien Garrett told Haaretz Thursday, after her release from the hospital.

The officer with her mother "turned around and started hitting me and my child in the face," she said. Her husband tried to help her, "but two other officers jumped on him, handcuffed him, and beat him up while the other officer was hitting me and my daughter."

Neighbors left their houses to come to the family's aid. "Everything was just a big frenzy," Garrett said. "One of the neighbors came and took my daughter away from me, so that she wouldn't be hit any more. The police officer was kicking me and hit me in my stomach, and I hit him back, to get him off of me."

Another neighbor called an ambulance. Kristien Garrett was taken to Barzilai with cramps, and hospitalized overnight. She has now been discharged on bed rest.

The lawyer for the family, Nicole Maor of the Israel Religious Action Center, said that they had been subjected to racial abuse by the police officers, who reportedly yelled at them: “Afro-Americans, kushim [darkies], we don’t need you here.”

Family members said the officer who had struck Kristien Garrett later returned and apologized to Sean for beating his wife. "He said that he had never hit a woman before, and that he felt bad for the mistake that had been made," Woodcox said.

Oz unit official Yehuda Ben-Ezra denied that the officers had used physical force against the family, saying that his inspectors had filed a police complaint alleging that the family had attacked them with profanity.

Questioned regarding Garrett's hospitalization, Ben-Ezra told Army Radio, "The woman is not in the hospital because of violence by inspectors. Really not." Pressed by news anchor Yael Dan, Ben-Ezra said "I have no idea why she was hospitalized - why she went to the hospital."

"You mean there was no violence there?" Dan asked.

"Not on the part of my inspectors. On the part of the residents, yes. On the part of my inspectors, truly no."

The morning after the incident, Trina Woodcox went to the Ashkelon police station to file a complaint against the police, but was rebuffed.

"They called her a liar, and said that they couldn't accept her complaint," said Maor.

Wilcox wrote Kansas City Reform Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff, who had converted the family to Judaism, "My heart is breaking right now.

"We have so much love for Israel. But it seems like Israel does not love us back."

Source:

IDF Soldiers Torture Palestinians - WARNING: This Video Contains VERY DISTURBING Images

2010-10-21T18:56:00.000-05:00

This is what our tax dollars are going for? THESE BASTARDS DON'T NEED TO BE GETTING OUR MONEY. As far as I am concerned the U.S. is every bit as guilty for letting the torture continue.

WARNING: The following video contains EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES!

Delayed Exit of a Toddler from Gaza Results in Death

2010-10-21T06:08:00.000-05:00

Nasma Abu Lasheen died on Saturday, October 16, 2010 in Gaza. Israel failed to issue her an urgent entry permit for life-saving medical treatment at Ha-Emek Medical Center in Afula, Israel. She was two years old.

Abu Lasheen, a young resident of Gaza diagnosed with Leukemia, was referred for emergency treatment in Israel on October 6, 2010. When requests to the Israeli Army for an entry permit went unanswered for several days, by way of B'tselem, the family contacted Physicians for Human Rights- Israel (PHR-Israel) for additional help. That very same day, on October 13, 2010, PHR-Israel contacted the Gaza District Coordination Office (DCO) demanding a permit be issued immediately to the baby and her father to enable their entry into Israel. A military approval was finally granted the next afternoon, October 14, 2010.

Abu Lasheen's medical condition had been deteriorating rapidly and by the time the permit was received, the treating doctor in Gaza, Dr. Mohammad Abu Sha'aban, said she was too sick to travel. Nasma died in the early morning hours of October 16, 2010.

PHR-Israel immediately lodged a complaint with the head of the Israeli DCO, demanding an immediate inquiry into those responsible for the delayed response.

Abu Lasheen's death comes just days PHR-Israel testified to the Israeli Turkel Commission which investigates the Flotilla incident, on the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip as a result of Israel's closure policy. In their October 13th testimony, PHR- Israel pointed to the rising numbers of Gaza patients denied exit for treatment in hospitals outside the Strip, a phenomenon that has intensified since Israel's tightened closure took effect June 2007. PHR-Israel emphasized that for the patients, a delayed or non-approved permit could mean the difference between quality of life and preventable pain and suffering, and in many cases, even the difference between life and death, as demonstrated by the Abu Lasheem case.

PHR- Israel calls on the Israeli authorities at Erez Crossing to investigate those responsible for delays involved in Nasma Abu Lasheen's case. PHR- Israel reiterates its demand that Israel fulfill its obligations vis-à-vis the residents of Gaza by ensuring them full and timely access to medical treatment unavailable in the Gaza Stip.

For more information, please contact Ran Yaron, Director of PHR-Israel's Occupied Territories Department by telephone: +972-54-7577696, or via E-mail ranyaron@phr.org.il

Source:

Mother of Five Gets FBI Visit for Exercising First Amendment

2010-10-19T23:42:00.002-05:00

http://revolutionnews.us/ ~ In his book Friendly Fascism, author Bertram Gross argues that when fascism comes to America it will be "friendly" and lack the overt brutality of the classic varieties of German and Italian fascism.

Richard Nixon once said that average American is like a child in the family.

Nixon was merely expressing the dominant opinion of the ruling elite who consider us contemptible children in need of adult supervision. Hitler, too, considered the German people children in need of adult supervision.

For the elite, a political activist is the worst sort of unruly child, one that directly challenges the authority of the father who represents the state. In order to modify the behavior of a rebellious child the state must instill fear. It must intimidate but — as Gross noted — it must do this with a friendly face. It must uphold the pretense of "democracy." A frog must be boiled slowly.

"No truly sophisticated proponent of repression would be stupid enough to shatter the facade of democratic institutions," wrote Murray B. Levin.

In the once great United States, circa 2010, the state, the father authoritarian figure, does not generally send Gestapo thugs in leather trench coats at three o'clock in the morning to the doorstep of those bold enough to challenge the authority of the state. It may send a SWAT team of trained killers after a suspected drug dealer, but this is the exception and not the rule.

Naked brutality is reserved for al-Qaeda patsies, Iraqi children, Afghan wedding parties, Pakistani villagers, and on occasion those of us who directly challenge the state through armed resistance and self defense. Ed Brown, Randy Weaver's wife, David Koresh and the incinerated children of Waco come to mind.

In the video below, agents of friendly fascism — who resemble a insurance salesman and his dowdy wife — visit a woman in Austin, Texas, and attempt to ask a few friendly questions about her rebellious behavior during a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Her rebellion did not consist of bomb-making or even inappropriate jokes about the president. Her crime was to display organized outrage over the murder and mistreatment of an entire people, a crime supported by and paid for by the U.S. government.

The FBI agents asked: Did she know anybody who would engage in violence or property damage? In other words, does she admit to being a terrorist and does she know of any terrorist plots ongoing?

At first glance, this line of questioning seems patently absurd. But it has a deeper purpose unstated and denied by the FBI — to inculcate fear of the state and intimidate and modify the behavior of an unruly and rebellious child. It is a routine designed to shut down opposition and discourage troublemakers from exercising their First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Government will decide what is appropriate and what verges on a crime against the state. The First Amendment now has circumscribed areas of practice surrounded by men in black ski masks and Darth Vader storm trooper uniforms.

The intimidation process did not work on this brave woman. She knows her rights and she was not afraid to tell the FBI in a polite way to shove it where the sun does not shine.

---==

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."

- James Madison

NEW MEXICO CITIZENS LIVE IN FEAR OF THEIR POLICE

2010-10-18T10:53:00.001-05:00

When the supervisor of the Albuquerque Police Department’s Cold Case Squad criticized the grieving mother of a homicide victim for questioning the actions of “an impeccable police department,” the families of over a dozen New Mexico murder victims decided to take a long look at that “impeccable” department, as well as other investigative agencies in the Albuquerque area. What that group has uncovered underscores the headline in the Albuquerque Journal, “THE CITIZENS OF ALBUQUERQUE ARE AFRAID OF THEIR COPS.” Honest police officers are almost as intimidated as the public -- afraid to speak out against their colleagues and supervisors for fear of retaliation against themselves or their loved ones.

Police in New Mexico have a long and on-going track record of murder, bank robbery, kidnapping, extortion, sex crimes, burglary, drug dealing, aggravated battery, auto theft, fraud, brutality, entrapment, the planting and/or destruction of evidence, intimidation of witnesses, and – above all – the cover-up of crimes committed by police officers. According to the battered wife of Deputy Scott Finley, a member of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department’s elite Crime Suppression Unit, when she threatened to call 911 to report a vicious beating, her husband’s response was: “Go ahead and call. How can you break the law when you are the law?”

This corruption is in no way limited to cops on the street. It exists at management levels and extends to the very top echelons of New Mexico law enforcement:

*Lt. John B. Gallegos, supervisor of the APD Internal Affairs Unit, was caught burglarizing a liquor store while on duty.

*Deputy Darryl Burt, senior officer in the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department Gang Unit, was charged with kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration, and other felonies in connection with the traffic stop of a 24-yr-old male, as well as 34 counts of sexual assault and extortion of a 16-yr-old boy. He was also found guilty of drug trafficking charges.

*APD Officer Andrew LeHocky sicced his 80-pound attack dog on a homeless woman who was asleep at the time. This was the same Andrew LeHocky who had just been named “Officer of the Month.”

*APD Sgt. Mike Garcia, supervisor of officers assigned to public schools, was indicted on sex charges involving a 12-yr-old girl who was staying the night with one of his daughters. (When he was tried in 2004, the jury was deadlocked, and the prosecutors did not seek a retrial.)

*The APD Intelligence Unit, under the supervision of Sgt. Joseph Polisar, was accused of illegally creating and maintaining secret dossiers on innocent political figures. The only possible use for such dossiers would be to exert influence and pressure on those politicians. When the existence of the dossiers became known, they were burned to prevent their inspection. Sgt. Polisar was subsequently elevated to Chief of Police.

The following abbreviated overview of corruption in New Mexico law enforcement is merely the tip of the iceberg. Since information from Internal Affairs investigations is not available to the public, and a 1997 study revealed that the City of Albuquerque routinely set aside $4 million a year to settle malfeasance claims out of court, there has never been a way for the average citizen to have any idea of the full extent of what goes on beyond the “Blue Wall of Silence.” It’s our hope that the families who have contributed cases to this report may be able to shine a pinpoint of light on those activities by sharing their personal horror stories, which are set in the framework of this overview. Copies of individual reports can be obtained as e-mail attachments from justiceproject@earthlink.net.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE “LAND OF ENCHANTMENT”

Highlighted entries represent a selection of cases from the New Mexico Justice Packet, a compilation of reports by families of New Mexico homicide victims who contend that their loved ones’ cases were not thoroughly and/or honestly investigated by New Mexico law enforcement – local police, state police, or sheriff’s department. Copies of individual reports in their entirety may be obtained without charge as e-mail attachments from justiceproject@earthlink.net. Professional writers, publishers, and TV producers, who have an authentic interest in doing stories based on individual cases or on the Justice Project as a whole, can be placed in touch with the families through their private investigators.

9/80: APD Officer Joseph Polisar, (who later became Albuquerque Police Chief) was assigned to investigate the death of his friend, Phil Chacon, killed in the line of duty during a bank robbery. Polisar’s two-day investigation led to a civil rights suit against him and two other officers for planting evidence and coercing witnesses in an attempt to convict Van Robinson, a black male. In 1985, Robinson was acquitted, and a Federal Grand Jury awarded him $75,000. (Before Polisar was made police chief, the findings against him were reversed.)

1/1/81: Governor Bruce King pardoned former APD Officer Robert Earl Davis for 1970’s offenses, some committed while he was a police officer. In 1976, Officer Davis was arrested in a stolen car and in possession of drugs. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 5 years, (changed to probation by DA Steve Schiff, who said Davis was unlikely to repeat such an offense). Later Davis was charged with operating a crime ring with three other APD officers fired in the 1970s for ripping off people they arrested. Davis was also a suspect in several 1970's homicides. The four ex-cops admitted to a 6-year, multi-state crime spree, involving more than $1,000,000. The over-1,000 crimes they committed included robberies, auto theft, homicides, and drugs. This time Davis was sentenced to 14 years. Gov. King later rescinded the Davis pardon.

9/81: APD undercover officers, John Hearn and Greg Avila, were working a suspected vehicle theft ring when they got into a shootout with one of the suspects, Frank Minott. Minott testified that he shot at Officer Avila in self-defense after Avila fired at him. Officer Avilla’s blood alcohol level was three times higher thaN the legal requirement for intoxication. A female witness testified that Avila tried to force his way into her bedroom, tried to grope another girl present, and tried to stab a cat with a pitchfork, saying he “was hungry.” Minott testified that he told Avila to stop hurting the women and Avila said, “What are you going to do about it?”, Minott pushed Avila away, and Avila pulled a knife. Then Hearn got involved, and Minott said he feared that Hearn would hold him down while Avila cut him, so he ran to the house and Avila fired a gun at him. Minott got to a gun and fired back at Avila, wounding him twice. Minott was found guilty of assault with intent to commit a violent felony. Chief Whitey Hansen told the press (in regard to the actions of the two officers), “When you’re in Rome, you do as the Romans do.” He said there are no guidelines or rules for undercover officers

1/30/84: Criminal Case: State v. Charles William Holman, et al., Sex Club of Albuquerque: A list of people involved in this party/prostitution club included police officers, state legislators, lawyers, and judges. APD Officer John Carillo testified about his participation in the sex club.

Thanksgiving Day, 1984: State Police Officer Matt Griffin attempted to force his way into Febye Garcia’s mobile home as the family was sitting down to dinner. When Garcia resisted, Griffin pulled out his can of Mace, struck the woman on the nose with it, and then sprayed her directly in the eyes. Griffin then resigned from the State Police and joined the Albuquerque Police Department.

2/16/85: CURTIS LINDSEY HOMICIDE (Albq. PD): Curtis was stabbed in the back in broad daylight. He stumbled across the street to a 7-11 store and collapsed on the floor. APD Officer Ronald Merriman (see “Kaitlyn Arquette Case” and “Benny Esquivel Case”) was dispatched to the scene, as was the Fire Department. The medics later testified that Officer Merriman refused to allow them to treat Curtis until he finished interrogating him. Curtis bled to death at the scene. Curtis was schizophrenic and used marijuana as a type of self-medication. His father, Victor Lindsey, says APD shrugged off the murder as “just one drug addict killing another.” When it became apparent there would be no investigation, Victor set out to solve the case himself. Witnesses and informants led him to the killer, Javier Escalera. Victor gave his information to a friend in law enforcement, who pressured the case detectives to follow up on it. Eventually Escalera was arrested and convicted. Victor sued the City of Albuquerque, the Fire Department, and Officer Merriman for medical malpractice at the scene. The case was settled out of court.

1/12/86: LINDA DANIELS ABDUCTION AND HOMICIDE: Linda was abducted for use in porno films, raped, tortured, and then shot to death. James Scartaccini, the one of Linda’s abductors that evidence indicated was her killer, was allowed to plea bargain by testifying against his companions. The police and the DA prosecutor “lost” all evidence against Scartaccini, including his sperm sample, which was later found on the DA prosecutor’s desk. Scartaccini served no time at all.

10/31/86: APD Officer Matt Griffin knocked on the apartment door of Ralph Narducci in response to a loud noise report. When Narducci asked to see his identification, Griffin beat him on the head and face. Narducci was hospitalized. His lawsuit against the city was settled for $35,000.

3/1/87: APD Officer Matt Griffin, moonlighting as night manager at Pinon Trails Apts., refused to cooperate with APD officers executing a warrant for Sam Elliott, a suspect in the drug murder of Bobby Dytzel. Griffin refused to identify the apartment where Elliott was staying. Elliott later pled guilty to murdering Dytzel. Griffin was suspended for one day without pay for his refusal to help the officers and for failing to disclose his outside job.

1987: APD Officer Toby Gallegos was given a 20-day suspension for unjustifiably shooting a teen-ager he was chasing on foot.

5/10/87: Albuquerque Journal: Land Commissioner, Jim Baca, former candidate for mayor of Albuquerque, disclosed that during his campaign Albuquerque Police Chief Sam Baca had offered to show him a secret intelligence file on his opponent, Ken Schultz. (Chief Baca denied that.) Jim Baca said he refused to accept the file. He said there was a need for exposure of rampant politics within the Albuquerque Police Department and that APD Chief Sam Baca was a victim of that “incestuous” system.

7/4/87: Convicted APD Officer Robert Earl Davis and four other men escaped from Santa Fe Prison. Davis later stated that Corrections Officer Lt. David Owens smuggled in a gun to help with the escape.

10/1/87: Former Chief Justice William Riordan, the City’s first independent councilor, found that the APD Intelligence Unit, under the supervision of APD Sgt. Joseph Polisar, had been secretly stockpiling information on local residents not suspected of wrong doing. (The Unit was supposed to be gathering intelligence on motorcycle gangs, organized crime, terrorists and other criminal activity.)

10/6/87: Gene Romo, City Councilor, ordered APD Chief Sam Baca to “fix” APD’s problems and gave him 120 days to do so, at which time Chief Baca’s performance would be evaluated by a special panel. Chief Baca termed Romo’s plan “harsh.”

10/22/87: City Attorney Pat Bryan told investigators that he was present when APD Chief Sam Baca offered secret intelligence file information to Jim Baca. Tapes of investigators’ interview with Chief Baca suddenly became “missing.”

11/18/87: APD Officer Matt Griffin was fired by Police Chief Sam Baca for refusing to return a $75 witness fee for a case in which he never testified.

1/29/88: SPRING MILLER HOMICIDE: (Albuquerque PD) Spring, 16, was run down by a truck. Spring’s younger sister, April, (see “April Miller Case”), was with her at the time. The girls had gone for a walk, and as they approached the entrance to an apartment complex, they noticed a truck poised to leave the parking lot. They stopped, but the driver motioned them to cross in front of him. When they reached the middle of the driveway, he grinned and stomped on the accelerator. He ran over Spring’s head with both front and rear right tires, and ran over April’s legs. At that time, the APD Homicide Unit was involved with several high profile murders, (including the Darcy Pierce case), so the investigation of Spring’s death was relegated to traffic officers. Although there were a number of witnesses and the suspect matched the description of Martin Martinez, who was arrested several month later for deliberately running down joggers in that same area of town, Martinez was not charged with Spring’s death.

1/2/88: APD Officer Matt Griffin, disguised as a ninja, robbed NM Federal Savings and Loan and fled in a stolen Camero with a National Guard license plate.

3/88: APD rehired Officer Matt Griffin after his attorney cut a deal with the city. Police Chief Sam Baca later stated that he didn’t want to rehire Griffin, but did so on the advice of his legal adviser and the city Legal Department.

6/28/88: APD Officer Matt Griffin, the “Ninja Bandit,” committed another bank robbery and made his getaway in a stolen Camero with Colorado Tags.

7/88: A 9 mm Glock semiautomatic handgun disappeared from the Police Department’s evidence room while APD Officer Matt Griffin was assigned to guard it.

9/21/88: APD Officer Matt Griffin committed another bank robbery and made his getaway in a stolen Camero.

1/19/89: APD Officer Matt Griffin robbed First Interstate Bank and made his getaway in a stolen Camero.

1989: The Albuquerque Police Department was sued by a citizen’s group that wanted access to the APD intelligence files to see whether they contained evidence of unconstitutional police investigation of political figures who were not under suspicion of wrong doing. The police had the intelligence files burned one half hour before a federal judge issued a restraining order to prevent their destruction.

1/27/89: PETER KLUNCK KILLING (Albq. PD): Peter was shot by three members of the APD ROP Team – Robert Valtierra, Paul Heatley, and Matt Griffin -- on the day he was scheduled to appear in court and had told people he was planning to “blow the lid off APD.” Friends assert that Peter had been involved in criminal activities with Officer Griffin and now wanted out. Police released a statement that Peter was shot in the chest in self-defense. In truth, he was shot three times in the back. Officer Steve Nakamura, who did not fire at Peter, said Peter was unarmed. “These guys shot him in the back and I don’t know why!” he told his sergeant. After a seven-hour search, a derringer turned up 15 feet from Peter’s body. Peter’s prints were not on it. A tipster from within APD informed the AG’s Office that the gun was planted to support the self-defense claim. Former Chief Justice Rheardon, who conducted the Internal Affairs investigation, stated in his report, “I believe there is a question about whether Mr. Klunck was armed at the time he was shot and, even if he was, whether it was necessary to shoot him.” APD reacted by issuing an official statement that Rheardon had concluded the shooting was justified. Six months later, Officer Griffin, who fired the death shot, was revealed to be the notorious “The Ninja Bandit” who had been terrorizing Albuquerque for months. Griffin was sentenced to life for multiple bank robberies and murder of a witness. Even so, law enforcement continued to refuse to consider the possibility that Griffin killed Peter to keep him from talking. In 1990, Peter’s parents filed a federal wrongful death and civil rights suit against the police chief and several police officers. The judge ordered them to settle out of court with no admission that Peter’s civil rights were violated. The Kluncks brought in the FBI, but by the time the case went to the Grand Jury so much time had passed that witnesses’ memories had faded. The Jury, while not exonerating the police, handed down no indictments.

4/3/89: APD Officer Matt Griffin shot and killed Michael Howard, a resident of Cibola Village Apts., when Howard caught Griffin in the parking lot attempting to steal his car.

4/18/89: The “Ninja Bandit” robbed Sun County Savings a second time.

7/10/89: APD Officer Matt Griffin was revealed to be the “Ninja Bandit,” and was arrested for five bank robberies and the slaying of Michael Howard.

7/16/89: KAITLYN ARQUETTE HOMICIDE (Albq. PD): Kaitlyn, 18, was chased down in her car and shot to death. The first officer at the scene, Det. Ronald Merriman, (see “Benny Esquivel Case” and “Curtis Lindsey Case”), called in a report of an accident with no injuries. Police allowed Paul Apodaca, a man with a record of violent assaults on women, who was at the scene when Merriman arrived, to leave the scene without questioning or even getting contact information. Police then left the scene themselves. Rescue almost missed the scene because there was no one there to wave them over – just Kaitlyn all alone in her car with her brains blown out. Kaitlyn’s death was classified as a “random drive-by shooting,” despite strong physical evidence that Kaitlyn was deliberately murdered and strong indicators that she was preparing to blow the whistle on interstate crime that involved her estranged Vietnamese boyfriend, Dung Nguyen, and his cohorts. The activities of that group included car wreck insurance fraud, drug dealing, arson, the theft and sale of computer chips, and illegal naturalization. When APD dropped off the unsolved case in 1991, Kaitlyn’s mother, Lois Duncan, wrote a book, Who Killed My Daughter?, to prevent the facts of the case from becoming buried. The media blitz that followed led to an influx of new information, which APD has declined to follow up on because it doesn’t support their random shooting scenario.

12/89: Police Chief Sam Baca informed an INS agent that Kaitlyn Arquette was killed by a Vietnamese gang. The homicide department then closed the Arquette case as a random shooting by Hispanic subjects. DA Bob Schwartz refused to prosecute the Hispanics due to a lack of evidence and because APD’s “eye-witness” was in jail on the night of the murder. Schwartz directed the police to investigate the Vietnamese suspects. The police did not do so.

Chief Sam Baca left APD, and was replaced by Chief Bob Stover.

10/5/90: APD Narcotics Det. Stan Gloria stated that he had knowledge of drug activity at a particular address. He applied for a warrant for a nighttime search of the residence of “Manuel (LAST NAME UNKNOWN), Description: "Spanish" (sic) male, 40-45 years old, medium height, heavy set,” claiming this man had a long criminal record, although – not knowing the man’s name, DOB, or SS# -- there was no way Gloria could have known about any criminal record

10/12/90: Armed with a warrant obtained thru false information, Narcotics Detective Stan Gloria, Lieutenant Hughes, SGT Bartram (sic- Bertram), Officers R. Vasquez, R. Jeffrey, W. Jones, E. Sauer, B. Snow, A. Lehocky, Lieutanant Bourgoine, S. Gray, S. Rodriguez, H. Terry, T. McWhorter, C. Lopez and four US NAVY SEALS went to the home of Manuel Ramirez, at about 4:30 a.m. There they attached a cable to a tow truck and pulled the wrought iron front door off the Ramirez residence, while other personnel simultaneously broke all of the windows of the Ramirez home. As Ramirez reached for a handgun, (which wasn’t loaded), the collection of officers entered unannounced and dressed in black and shot Ramirez twice in the chest. They ransacked the family home, while Ramirez lay dead in his living room and his grieving family sat in the back of an APD Patrol Car. No drugs were found in the residence until 48 hours after the break in. The Ramirez's infant was injured in his crib by flying glass. Ramirez’s widow filed a lawsuit against the City in 1992 and received a $275,000 settlement.

4/7/91: Albuquerque Journal: Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputy, Darryl Burt, recently named senior officer in the BCSO Gang Unit, was accused of forcing a 24-yr-old, male, Mexican national to submit to forced sex acts in a BCSO vehicle and threatening the victim with a gun.

4/23/91: APD Officers James Torres and Stan Gloria went into an apartment to sell 100 lbs. of marijuana for $60,000. They were posing as drug dealers in order to take the money of real drug dealers. Torres went into the apartment alone and the suspects pulled a gun on him and tied him up. A suspect then pulled a gun on Gloria, who was waiting in the parking lot. Nearby police were alerted and came to the rescue. The suspects were tried and convicted. In 1997, Torres and Gloria were awarded medals.

5/31/91: Albuquerque Tribune: Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office investigated allegations made by a convicted drug dealer that Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies provided drugs to transvestite prostitutes in return for sexual favors. The drug dealer, serving a sentence in federal prison, has a history of cooperating with law enforcement agencies.

9-10/91: LINK TO THE KAITLYN ARQUETTE HOMICIDE: An informant told APD that the auto-body shop on Arno, (hangout for APD Officer Matt Griffin and fellow officers), was a distribution point for large amounts of cocaine. The informant identified a subject, Maria Alcala, as making deliveries in a truck with an unknown male, later identified as Michael Arellano, son of the owner of the body shop. Alcala and Arellano were surveilled to 824 Arno NE, as were Consuela Santillanes and Pedro Alcala Jr. Surveillance also noted a high level of traffic in/out of the business within a short period of time, consistent with narcotics trafficking.

10/3/91: LINK TO THE KAITLYN ARQUETTE HOMICIDE: Execution of search warrant for cocaine trafficking were executed at 824 Arno NE and 332 Estancia NW. Pedro Alcala was arrested at 332 Estancia NW and later pled guilty. Michael Arellano (son of the owner of the body shop) and Maria Alcala had apparently been alerted to the raid and left the shop, heading to Nevada, just before APD, FBI, ATF officers arrived to execute the search warrant. Cocaine, trafficking paraphernalia and money were seized at 332 Estancia NW. Drugs and guns were seized at 824 Arno.

1/29/92: APD Officer Andrew Lehocky was sued for violating the civil rights of Kenneth Wayne Tortolita. Although no further information regarding this case is available, the case was settled for an undisclosed sum of money on 9/10/1992.

2/22/92: Albuquerque Journal: District Court Judge ordered Bernalillo County Sheriff Ray Gallagher to keep members of his Crime Suppression Unit away from witnesses in the sexual assault case against BCSO Deputy Darryl Burt and asked prosecutors to prepare written court orders to be served on Detectives Ed Pacheco and John Sharkey. Witnesses, Willie and Daniel Apodaca, complained of witness intimidation. Sheriff Gallagher admitted to having destroyed evidence in the case against Deputy Burt

5/13/92: APD Officer Andrew Lehocky was sued when his police dog attacked Sheldon Waddles, a peaceful demonstrator at a rally (and the son of a local fire chief). The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum of money.

6/19/92: Former APD Officer Robert Davis assisted murderer, Thomas Wayne Crump, to escape from Torrance County Jail. Crump used a car owned by Davis’s wife, in exchange for a promise that Crump would kill Davis’s enemies on the outside.

1993: APD Officer Toby Gallegos was fired by Police Chief Bob Stover for hitting a car-chase suspect in the back of the head with his nightstick. Gallegos said he didn’t remember doing that, and the firing was rescinded in favor of a 60-day suspension.

5/28/93: SAL MARTINEZ HOMICIDE (Albq. PD): Sal had to work late and arrived at a bachelor party close to midnight. He was shot as soon as he walked in the door. Sal was still alive when police got there, but the officers would not perform CPR because they had forgotten their plastic mouthpieces. Sal’s killer, Darryl Fowler, fled the party, but later turned himself in on the advice of his attorney, who assured him nothing would happen to him. The attorney was right. APD said they couldn’t charge Fowler because he claimed self-defense, although Sal wasn’t carrying a weapon, nor was anyone else at the party except Fowler. Informants told Sal’s mother that Fowler was a drug supplier for a VIP in law enforcement and had many friends at APD. Since police refused to arrest Fowler, Sal’s parents sued him for wrongful death. At the hearing, Fowler admitted to shooting Sal, but said, “I didn’t know I killed him and I don’t know where the gun is.” In 1999, Sal’s parents were awarded a settlement, but the DA dismissed criminal charges. The DA wouldn’t say why. The family says he refused to talk to them at all.

8/29/93: NATHAN ROMERO HOMICIDE (Albq. PD): Nathan was chased down by three vehicles, stabbed, and left to die in the street. He was found with a Vietnamese medallion clutched in his hand, apparently snatched from his killer during the struggle. APD did not collect that evidence from the coroner, who gave it to Nathan’s mother, Linda Gutierrez. Linda rounded up witnesses to the stabbing, who identified members of the Asian gang that killed Nathan. Police found a couple of the gang members that same day, still wearing the same clothes from the night before, but did not arrest them or process their clothing for DNA evidence. For two years, the killers taunted and harassed Linda. They asked Nathan’s friends, “Do you want to be killed next?” Linda kept calling APD to ask why nothing was being done, until finally a homicide captain bellowed, “We know who killed your son, just like we know who killed Kaitlyn Arquette! This is police business – butt out!” (See “Kaitlyn Arquette Case”) Linda made numerous calls to the mayor’s office, which were not returned. Finally an assistant agreed to deliver the message personally. The mayor then called Linda’s PI to ask how much evidence Linda had. The PI responded that she had enough to file a civil suit against the city of Albuquerque for wrongful death. Then wheels started turning. The case detective, (who was also the lead detective in the Arquette case), was transferred out of the department. In 1995, the killers – Song Boutavong, Anacheck Boutavong, Shervin Mowzoun and Michael Frias -- were arrested and convicted. They were allowed to plea bargain.

7/5/94: APD Joseph Polisar, (supervisor of the APD Intelligence Unit when police burned the controversial Intelligence Files), was appointed Police Chief.

8/24/94: Albuquerque Journal: City Counselor M. Brasher requested a new investigation into a federal informant’s claim that four APD narcotics detectives were involved in drug-trafficking, rape, planting evidence and murder of a drug trafficker and prostitutes. The four were investigated in the fall of 1993 by APD Chief Bob Stover.

4/25/95: Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy Darryl Burt, who was acquitted in Nov. 1992 of sex related charges, was indicted on 34 counts of sexual assault and extortion of a 16-yr-old boy over a number of months and a number of different encounters. (These charges were unrelated to the sex charges filed against him previously.) Burt was placed on unpaid leave from BCSO. He later pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to 728 days in jail.

1995: APD Officer Toby Gallegos was fired by Chief Joseph Polisar, who labeled him a “brutal cop” for hitting a suspect several times with his large metal flashlight and kicking him in the groin. A city hearing officer ruled the firing justified, but it was later overturned. Gallegos returned to work and collected $35,627 back wages from his termination date to his reinstatement date.

6/2/95: Albuquerque Journal: APD LT. FACES PROBE: Lt. John B. Gallegos, 14-yr veteran of APD and supervisor of Internal Affairs division, faced criminal investigation for burglarizing a liquor store in May, 1995. He was on duty at the time of the burglary.

7/19/95: Albuquerque Journal: APD INVESTIGATES SERGEANT’S ACTIONS - Internal Affairs investigated Sgt. Stan Gloria in connection with a drug situation. Gloria, a former narcotics officer, was current supervisor of field services on the West Side.

7/21/95: Albuquerque Journal: CITY TO PAY FIRED COP $450,000, BUT WON’T SAY WHY-- A legal settlement by the City of Albuquerque awarded Bruce McAllister, fired APD narcotics detective accused of robbing drug dealers and raping a prostitute, $450,000.00. McAllister said he was set up.

8/5/95: MELANIE MCCRACKEN HOMICIDE (NM State Police): Melanie died under strange circumstances in her home in Bosque Farms. There was no official determination of cause of death, although the OMI chief has opined it was "violent assault." Melanie’s husband, NMSP Sgt. Mark McCracken, (see “Stephanie Houston Case”), placed her in the family car, drove onto the Isleta Indian Reservation, and ran the car into a tree. McCracken’s own department investigated the case and announced that Melanie was killed in the car wreck. Sgt. McCracken told the media Melanie died of cancer, although the autopsy revealed no cancer. APD Det. Damon Fay (see “Stephen Haar Case”) threatened to have Melanie’s mother, Nancy Grice, arrested for obstructing justice if she continued to question the circumstances of Melanie’s death. In 1998 Nancy filed a federal civil rights suit against McCracken and the State Police. Expert witness Dr. John Smialek opined that the cause of death was “homicidal suffocation.” When it started to look like the case would turn into a murder case, Nancy’s court appointed attorney succumbed to pressure to settle out of court. NMSP promoted McCracken to lieutenant. In Oct. 2003, Lt. McCracken was indicted for first degree murder and evidence tampering. Grand jurors also requested that another grand jury be empanelled to review the conduct of the NMSP investigators. In Dec. 2003, Valencia County Magistrate John Sanchez, a former State Police officer himself, filed a federal civil rights suit against NMSP for harassment of him and his family in retaliation for his attempts to persuade authorities to investigate McCracken. Oct. 31, 03, McCracken was indicted for first degree murder and evidence tampering, but charges were dismissed because an investigator for the prosecution was in the grand jury room during testimony. Dec 2004, Judge David Bonem ruled McCracken would not have to stand trial. He stated that, “while a violent and natural death cannot be excluded” there was not enough evidence to try mcCracken. He chastised the NMSP for not allowing an outside agency to do the investigation.

9/2/95: KRISTOPHER GRAY DEATH (Navajo Tribal Criminal Investigators): Kris was found dead by a pump jack at an oil well location on the south side of Farmington. Although police told Kris’s mother, Marie Lope, that Kris was beaten to death and there were four vehicles at the scene, they collected no evidence from the scene or from Kris’s vehicle, which was hot-wired and driven to a different location. The night before Kris’s body was found, he attended a party on a bluff on the Reservation. Witnesses told Marie that Kris was trying to break up a fight and got killed in the process. Despite their initial statement that it was murder, police closed the case as an accident. The OMI report speculates that Kris “accidentally fell from a height.” The FBI contends that Kris walked into a revolving pump jack, (although the pump jack was not in operation). The embalmer informed Marie that Kris had a fresh stab wound under his rib cage that had to be patched to prevent leakage. The OMI report makes no mention of that stab wound.

9/20/95: APD Lt. John B. Gallegos, supervisor of APD Internal Affairs Division, was indicted on counts of commercial burglary, evidence tampering and larceny. APD said Gallegos was no longer with the department but refused to say if he was fired or resigned.

1/6/96:TYRONE TSOSIE SUSPICIOUS DEATH (Navajo Tribal Criminal Investigators): Tyrone was found comatose on the side of the Frontage Road just off of I-40 fifteen miles east of Gallup. His wallet was missing. He was flown to the UNM Hospital in Albuquerque where he was pronounced brain dead. Police told Tyrone’s mother, Bertha Begay, that her son “got tired and lay down on the side of the side of the road and a car ran over him.” They said the car was so hot that his nylon jacket melted onto his body. Bertha obtained a copy of the autopsy report and discovered the cause of death was “undetermined” and Tyrone’s only injury was a blunt force blow to the back of the head. Tyrone’s family believes he was killed during an argument with someone he knew and that family members of the killer dumped his body. Police said they were “too swamped” to investigate the case, so Bertha hired private investigators. Tyrone’s wallet was eventually found in the possession of his estranged girlfriend, Veronica Scott. Bertha is a single parent of four, and Tyrone’s medical and funeral bills drained her financially. She spent her weekends fund-raising at flea markets in order to pay her private investigators. She couldn’t keep it up, and they dropped off the case.

03/27/96: APD Officer Andres Lehocky was sued for allowing or ordering an attack dog to bite and maul Isaac Ortiz. As with the two previous suits, this lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum of money.

8/96: Former BCSO Deputies Darryl Burt, (once an undercover narcotics agent) and Michael Disney were taken into federal custody as the result of drug raids in their homes, after being videotaped selling drugs in a parking lot across from Eldorado High School. Both men were working at The Wild Side, Disney’s drug paraphernalia shop. At the time of the raid at Burt’s house, Burt and a 17-yr-old male took off through the bedroom window, both wearing only boxer shorts. A loaded 45-caliber handgun, a Fix-A-Flat can filled with cocaine, and a BCSO badge and credentials were among the items found in Burt’s garage. Both Burt and Disney later pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute. The men were described as partners in a heavily armed El Paso-to-Albuquerque drug trafficking operation. Burt was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months on a cocaine distribution conviction in US District Court.

9/5/96: Albuquerque’s Public Safety Advisory Board said it planned to find out if the Albuquerque Police Department's SWAT Team had a pattern of using excessive force.

11/6/96: APD Officer Brad Ahrensfield stopped motorist Kevin Lamkin and informed him there were warrants out for his arrest. Lamkin presented paperwork that proved the warrants had already been cleared up, but Ahrensfield allegedly crumbled them up, resorted to name-calling and abusive handling of Lamkin, and arrested him anyway. Lamkin’s case against Ahrensfield was settled out of court for $2,000.

3/18/97: The City Council commissioned an independent study to be undertaken “in the context of a serious and ongoing community crisis regarding the performance of the APD, particularly with reference to the fatal shootings of citizens.” The report confirmed that "The City of Albuquerque suffers from serious problems related to fatal shootings by APD officers and extremely high tort claims involving police officers.” The study also disclosed that the city set aside $4 million a year to settle claims against APD, “which is way out of line with larger cities with larger forces.”

APD Chief Polisar disputed the 163 page report, but said he did not read it all the way through.

5/25/97: APRIL MILLER DEATH (Albq. PD): Nine years after the death of her sister, Spring, (see Spring Miller Case”), April Miller vanished. April last visited her mother, Dianna Miller, on May 15, upset and crying, because her boyfriend had been arrested. April called her mother twice during the following week, just to check in. In her second call, on May 23, she said she was at the home of a friend named “Roland.” Dianna never heard from her again. On June 11, Dianna called APD to report April missing. Police took her information but did not inform her that an anonymous caller had reported April dead in an alley behind the parole office on May 25. APD Officer Todd Babcock, who knew April from a recent encounter, had identified April at the scene. April also had her name tattooed on her neck. The tags on April’s belongings bag and toxicology report all indicate that she was immediately identified as April Miller. Yet, the police report listed April as “Jane Doe,” and Dianna was not informed of her daughter’s death for six weeks. April reportedly died of a drug overdose. There was no investigation. The mysterious “Roland” was not interrogated, although the tipster’s call to police was made from a gas station a couple of blocks from Roland’s residence.

1997: Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Estrada was convicted of embezzlement for taking more than $730 worth of shirts from Dillard’s Department Store where he was moonlighting as a security officer.

6/14/97: The District Attorney’s office entered into the investigation of APD Chief Joseph Polisar after a city worker, Victor Gallegos, filed a criminal complaint that Polisar cursed at him and handcuffed him too forcefully during a traffic stop. Chief Polisar denied that accusation.

10/12/97: APD Officer Brad Ahrensfield stopped at a scene where a vehicle was stopped on a median, used pepper spray on the passenger, Steven Salazar, and allegedly kicked him in the stomach when Salazar refused to lie on the ground. The incident was settled for $10,000.

10/26/97: APD Officer Brad Ahrensfield was one of several officers outside an Albuquerque home during the arrest of Jim Vigin Jr. Virgin’s father protested the rough treatment of his son and decided to get a video camera from inside the house. Ahrensfield allegedly tackled Vigil Sr. “with such force that he was thrown into the bushes” and stepped on his hand and wrist, causing a wrist fracture. The City settled the suit for $25,000.

12/5/97: Albuquerque Journal: COP UNION GIVES BACA WARNING -- Albuquerque Police Officers Association President Alex Marentes said of new mayor Jim Baca, “If he screws with us, we will do everything possible to defeat him in the next election.”

12/9/97: Incoming Bernalillo County DA Jeff Romero claimed his office was forced to drop prosecutions because his predecessor, DA Bob Schwartz, never sent the cases for indictment. Romero said about 200 outdated drug cases that should have been sent to the Grand Jury were found “rat-holed” in Schwartz’s former office, a fact that almost caused the DA’s office to lose a $200,000 federal grant for drug prosecutions. Schwartz denied any knowledge of the stash of drug cases.

11/19/97: PAUL FITZJERRELL HOMICIDE, (Gallup PD): Paul was shot and killed. Gallup Police Officer Mike Brandau was indicted. The ranking officer at the scene, Calvin Wiggins, conducted both the homicide investigation and the internal affairs investigation. When the case went to court, police mixed information from Brandau’s Garrity-protected Internal Affairs statement in with the case information, thereby contaminating the case and making it impossible for Brandau to be prosecuted. Brandau stated that the Fraternal Order of Police counsels all their members to insist on Garrity whenever they are accused of crimes. “By doing so you will ensure that your statements and reports cannot be used as evidence against you in any proceedings,” says the FOB guide sheet. “Our advice is that we all use the procedure all the time.” Special prosecutor, Bob Schwartz, stated on television, “Because the police didn’t keep the Internal Affairs investigation and the criminal investigation separate, this case is so infected that you can never disinfect it. It may not be possible for this case to ever go forward again because of the actions of the police department.” (Details about this case must be withheld at this time because the family of the victim has launched a civil suit.)

12/21/97: APD Officer Brad Ahrensfield was alleged to have dragged a patron out of a nightclub, used pepper spray on him, and shoved him to the ground with such force that he shattered the man’s right wrist. The case was settled for $40,000.

12/26/97: Mayor Jim Baca announced his plan for a Citizens Review Board to investigate complaints against the Albuquerque Police Department. “The police department has to be accountable to somebody besides themselves,” Mayor Baca said. Alex Marentes, the police union president, argued that citizen review boards were “ineffective” and could be “bureaucratic, expensive and potentially controversial … Civilian investigators may lack an understanding of police sub-cultural norms.”

1/10/98: JOSH VIHEL SUSPICIOUS DEATH (Albq. PD): Josh, 16, died at a party. The official cause of death was “alcohol poisoning,” but he also had a bruise on his forehead, his nose was leaking blood, and money was missing from his wallet. Josh’s body was removed from the party house and taken to the apartment of one of the party guests, who didn’t report the death until the next afternoon. The first officer at the scene called in a report of a “suspicious death” and criminalistics was dispatched to the scene. An informant contacted the family with information that GHB (date rape drug) was slipped into Josh’s drink. Since GHB leaves the victim’s system in twelve hours, it would not show up in an autopsy. The family located the party house, which police said they couldn’t find, and were told by neighbors that the adult males who lived there, Chris and Scott Leonard, threw frequent parties where they charged cover fees and sold liquor and drugs to minors. APD refused to interrogate the Leonard brothers, explaining that the DA advised against it. Josh’s parents filed a civil suit against the Leonards and insisted on taking the case to court in order to learn more about what happened. In a deposition, Chris Leonard stated that he had several friends and a cousin on the police force. (For personal reasons, this family does not wish to be interviewed.)

1/14/98: GABINO GEORGE VENEGAS HOMICIDE (NM State Police): Gabino was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle home from work. Gabino’s parents, who lived out of state, asked Gabino’s sister in Albuquerque to keep them advised about the progress of the investigation. The NM State Police reacted with hostility to the sister’s questions and attempted to intimidate her by accusing her of interfering with the investigation. In truth, there was no investigation. The family’s PI discovered that three witnesses had seen two vehicles speeding from the scene. Evidence indicated that the first vehicle struck Gabino on his bicycle and knocked him into the path of the second vehicle. Witnesses identified the first car as a law enforcement vehicle, possibly Sheriff’s Dept. The PI was able to match the paint transfer on the bicycle with the make and year of the second vehicle and submitted a request for an MVD printout of the owners of such cars in a two-county area. NMSP ordered MVD not to comply with that legal request. The family filed a tort claim notice against NMSP, as they suspected investigators were covering up for a fellow cop. Police promised the family and their attorney that, if they withdrew the tort claim notice, NMSP would thoroughly investigate Gabino’s death. The family withdrew the notice. The case was not further investigated. The family’s PI believes that he has now identified and located the car that killed Gabino, but the DA’s office won’t agree to reopen the case.

1/15/98: STEPHEN HAAR HOMICIDE (Albq. PD): Steve died from gunshot wounds to the stomach and back. Two guns were used. The OMI has stated that one shot was fired by someone standing over him when he was already down. Police released a statement that Steve was found dead in the street with a shotgun lying next to him. In truth, he was found inside the residence of a man who is reportedly an APD snitch. Steve’s mother, Carmen Haar, found a note in Steve’s pocket warning him about a contract and naming the alleged snitch. In the course of an arrest by a Valencia County detective for an unrelated shooting, Travis Dally (a friend of the alleged snitch) confessed to killing Steve. APD dismissed the shooting as self-defense without even obtaining Dally’s taped confession from Valencia County. APD homicide Det. Damon Fay (see “Melanie McCracken Case”) told Carmen that APD would not charge Dally, but would forward the case to the DA’s Office. In Sept. 02, Carmen contacted the DA’s Office to inquire why charges hadn’t yet been filed. She was told the DA’s Office had no file on Steve’s case. As of today, Dally still has not been charged. Steve is the third of Carmen’s children to be murdered.

2/16/98: APD Officer Andrew LeHocky sicced his Belgian Malinois attack dog, Bart, on Nestor Chavez, a fleeing suspect. After the dog bit Nestor Chavez once and Lehocky had verified that Chavez was unarmed, Lehocky ordered Bart to attack a second time causing serious damage to Chavez’s right lower leg. In the interim Albuquerque mayor, Martin Chavez, declared that no police misconduct cases would settle. The case went to trial and, on April 25, 2003, a jury in the federal court in Albuquerque found Lehocky liable for violating Mr. Chavez’s Fourth Amendment rights and awarded nominal damages. In Aug., 03, a federal judge overturned the jury verdict, because Chavez had lied about being a suspect in a break-in earlier that morning.

4/14/98: Incoming Albuquerque mayor, Jim Baca (the same person who blew the whistle on the APD Intelligence Unit, see 5/10/87) replaced APD Chief Polisar (former officer in charge of that Intelligence Unit) with Gerald Galvin, police chief from Toledo, Ohio, in a reported effort to “clean up the Albuquerque Police Department.”

4/23/98: Chief State District Judge John Brennan criticized the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department for losing evidence in a first-degree murder case, including the victim’s clothing and five bullets pulled from his body.

4/25/98: Lawrence Candelaria, Identification Tech at APD, (processes fingerprints and takes mug shots), was charged with intent to distribute narcotics. Earlier in the year, Candelaria compromised an arrest warrant when he warned the target, his brother Leonard, that police were about to search his home. When a second warrant was served, police found heroin packaged for distribution. Lawrence Candelaria was arrested for conspiracy to traffic in heroin; Leonard Candelaria was booked for possession of heroin.

6/18/98: Albuquerque Journal: THE CITIZENS OF ALBUQUERQUE ARE AFRAID OF THEIR COPS -- That was the message the City Council heard during a special meeting to get public input on a recently completed study of who should police the Albuquerque Police Department … Paul Harper, co-director of Albuquerque Citizens on Police Accountability, said APD has proven cops can’t police themselves. “It’s like having the fox guard the hen house” said Harper, whose son Larry was killed by police officers.

6/25/98: Katherine Teupell was awarded a $235,000 settlement for claims against the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department and the Albuquerque Police Department for their use of a “We don’t do blue” policy in dealing with an officer accused of beating his wife. Teupell alleged police extended “professional courtesy” to her husband, Scott Finley, a member of the Sheriff Department’s elite Crime Suppression Unit. Teupell testified she fled from her home with her children, 6 and 2, still in pajamas, on the night of Oct. 18, 1993, after Finley beat her. Teupell said that when she threatened to call police, Finley responded, “Go ahead and call. How can you break the law when you are the law?" Although the APD officer who responded to the call confiscated Finley's police revolver, other officers who took over at the scene returned it.

6/28/98: APD Officer Brad Ahrensfield was alleged to have punched motorist Kippy Rhoten in the face five times after pulling him over to tell him to turn his car stereo down. A Metro Court judge ruled Ahrensfield innocent, but the City Attorney’s office ended up paying a settlement of $20,000

7/1/98: TERESA REYES, MISSING AND PRESUMED DEAD (Albq. PD): Teresa, 17, disappeared from the family home during the night. Police dubbed her a run-away, despite the fact that she took nothing with her, not even her wallet or crucially important medications. Since APD refused to investigate, Teresa’s mother, also named Teresa Reyes, sought help from other sources – ID Resource Center, Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Mayor’s Office, and the FBI. Those agencies would contact APD, who would assure them Teresa was a runaway and would come home when she was ready. In 2002, a PI received information that, on the night Teresa vanished, she met three strange men in a parking lot, who invited her to a party. Teresa wrote their phone number on a paper napkin with her lipstick. Teresa’s parents believe that Teresa sneaked out later to attend the party and met with foul play. Soon after that, Mrs. Reyes was mending a hole in Teresa’s favorite stuffed doll and found the napkin with the phone number hidden in the doll. The number was unlisted and no longer in service. The APD Missing Persons Dept. told Mrs. Reyes to have her PI fax all the case information to an APD detective. The PI did so, but nobody responded. Mrs. Reyes wrote to the police chief, begging his assistance. He didn’t respond. She, then, appealed to the Police Oversight Commission, and the police finally came to pick up the napkin. Three more years have now passed. Mrs. Reyes says, “Every time the phone rings my heart starts to pound, and I tell myself, ‘Maybe the police have been able to trace that phone number!’ But it’s never the police. I don’t think they remember who we are.”

8/19/98: The City of Rio Rancho settled with Bob and Frances James for an undisclosed amount after four police officers shot their son David to death as he stood on his parents’ front porch. Officers said they believed David was brandishing a gun. In truth he was holding a ceramic cross.

9/2/98: The family of Larry Harper was awarded a $200,000 settlement in a federal lawsuit claiming excessive force by police after family members called police to the Elena Gallegos picnic area for aid in subduing Harper, who was threatening to kill himself. After assuring the family that they were there only to talk to Harper, the APD SWAT-team shot Harper to death. “They told us the officers were only carrying ‘non-lethal rounds,’” said Larry’s brother, James Harper.

9/98: Albuquerque Tribune: The newly formed Police Oversight Commission is unable to function because of lack of cooperation from the Albuquerque Police Department. Although citizens have the right to appeal to the commission, which can offer its recommendations to the police chief, the chief does not have to act on those recommendations. Chief Galvin has never once gone along with a commission recommendation for increased discipline of an officer, and no officer named in a citizen complaint has ever shown up for a hearing. “We’ve been stonewalled,” the commission chairman told the media.

10/16/98: Albuquerque Journal: Former BCSO deputy Darryl Burt, now a federal inmate, has instigated a civil rights suit against the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department claiming he is owed back pay and benefits denied him after he was charged with 34 counts of sexual assault and extortion of a 16-yr-old boy. In 7/99 a federal judge dismissed the suit.

10/24/98: Albuquerque Police Detective Cisco Martinez was accused of entrapment for hiring two girls from an escort service to come to his motel room and dance nude, which is not illegal. However, he then attempted get the women to touch his genital area and to allow him to fondle them. When they refused, stating that this would be illegal, he had them busted for prostitution anyway. The women were found innocent in court.

12/13/98: RAMONA DURAN SUSPICIOUS DEATH (Albq. PD) – Ramona was found dead of a drug overdose in the apartment of Thomas Green and Ricky Pike. The men told police the three had drunk beer and smoked crack all night. Yet an autopsy revealed no alcohol in Ramona’s system. The first officer at the scene reported a strong odor of gas and advised his sergeant it was a suspicious death. Two officers reported bruises on Ramona’s arms above the elbows, and a neighbor reported hearing a woman screaming. Ramona’s sister, Valerie Duran, believes Ramona was sedated with gas and forcibly injected with a lethal drug overdose. She confirms that Ramona once had a drug problem, but says she had turned her life around. At the time of her death Ramona was on supervised probation and enrolled in an out patient substance abuse program with regular testing. Her probation officer has stated that Ramona remained clean. Ramona had told family members that she feared for her life because she had fingered certain VIPs in the drug trade and police had leaked information that she was a snitch. Police will not allow Ramona’s family to view the scene photos or to speak with the officers at the scene or to the men in whose apartment Ramona died.

12/27/98: JOHN SHERMAN SUSPICIOUS DEATH (Sandoval County Sheriff’s Dept.): John was found in Rio Rancho, slashed and stabbed to death in the front seat of his van. Members of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department transferred John’s body to the back of the van before taking crime scene photos and insist his death was a suicide, despite the finding of “homicide” by the former head of forensics at the Menninger clinic, who stated, “This wasn’t just murder – this was over-kill!” When John’s mother sought to have the case reopened she was informed that John’s case file had been destroyed.

2/26/99: APD Officer Andrew Lehocky released his police dog, Bart, on an unarmed teenager, Moriah Smith, who was hiding in a school yard after a boy she met at a party fired a gun and frightened her. Bart was supposedly sent in to locate Moriah and “guard and bark” to let Officers know where she was hiding. Instead, Bart ran into the schoolyard, located Moriah and immediately attacked her. Bart never bothered—or was ordered not—to bark. The attack left Moriah with four deep wounds that required three surgeries and a skin graft. Lehocky stated his supervisor, Sgt. Tom Garduno, told him, "Good job. I'm glad nobody died." A federal jury subsequently found Lehocky liable for the Moriah Smith attack. Lehocky was ordered to pay the $50,000 necessary to partially remove scars. Lehocky contended that Moriah must be a “bad” girl because his dog, Bart, would only bite “bad” people.

4/3/99: Albuquerque Journal: Former Sheriff’s Deputy, Michael Lee Disney, appeared before a US Magistrate on charges that he threatened DEA Agent Mike Marshall because of Marshall’s testimony against him.

4/15/99: STEPHANE MURPHEY HOMICIDE: Stephane was raped and strangled to death in her home in Rio Rancho. Her decomposed body was found four days later in her car, which was parked at an apartment complex in Albuquerque. APD and the Rio Rancho DPS were in conflict over who had jurisdiction. Eventually the Rio Rancho DPS claimed the case, despite the fact that they had no homicide department. It was only after years of relentless pressure by Stephane's family that RRDPS replaced the case investigator with one who was willing to submit the DNA evidence for testing. As a direct result of that testing, David F. Bologh was arrested and arraigned. Bond has been set at $1 million. (The family does not wish to be interviewed until after the trial.)

7/99: Albuquerque Journal - APD MODIFIES USE OF RUSE OPERATIONS – The APD SWAT-team had an officer pose as a burglar holed up in a car near the home of a murder suspect (a 12-year-old girl, Jade Gonzales, who had shot her father and claimed it was an accident). The SWAT team used the ruse of the fictional burglar to evacuate residents and secretly place an electronic eavesdropping device inside the Gonzales home. APD Chief Galvin said no officers were disciplined over the Jade Gonzales incident because they were following the department's standard operating procedures, but promised those procedures would be changed. Det. Steve Hall, one of the officers involved in that ruse, was named “Officer of the Month.”

Children’s Court Judge Tommy Jewell sharply criticized APD for stripping the 12-yr-old of her basic rights. Jewell found that the detectives didn't advise Jade of any rights, before or after they interrogated her without her mother or attorney present. Jewell wrote that Jade was the victim of "shocking, outrageous, and clearly intolerable" violations of her rights.

8/31/99: Former Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Estrada was convicted of retaliating against a witness who testified against him in 1997, when he was convicted of embezzlement.

9/3/99: Albuquerque Tribune: Retired APD Officer Philip Otero was arrested for impersonating an on-duty officer, stealing a motorist's money, and trying to bilk a 76-yr-old woman out of $2,000 casino earnings by going to her door and telling her to hand over the money because it might be counterfeit.

11/20/99: Albuquerque Tribune: A boot mark across the bridge of her boyfriend’s nose, due to a beating by Albuquerque Police Officers, caused Diane Holquist to call a special meeting of the Police Oversight Commission. Holquist charged excessive brutality that went unpunished when the officers were cleared by a police internal affairs investigation. Holquist attempted to enlist the help of the Commission to mandate that all officers involved in internal affairs complaints take lie detector tests. “It is the last chance for citizens to be assured of credibility from the police force,” she said. Holquist had gathered over 1,000 signatures on a petition seeking mandatory lie detector tests. The Police Oversight Commission did not have the power to help her in this matter.

12/7/99: BENEDICT ESQUIVEL HOMICIDE (Albq. PD): Benny, 14, was the victim of a gang-related shooting in 1992. He was shot in the neck and survived seven and a half years as a quadriplegic before he died of complications from respirator use. Benny’s father, Juan Esquivel, says two girls came to the hospital immediately after the shooting and told him the names of the killers and the motel where they were holed up. Juan gave that information to Det. Ronald Merriman, (see “Kaitlyn Arquette Case” and “Curtis Lindsey Case), who told Juan he hand-delivered the information to the APD Gang Squad. No investigation was done, and police now claim they never received the information. After Benny died, police told reporters they would reopen the case as a homicide and start tracking down witnesses. They now claim that the case is too old to investigate.

2/27/00: STEPHANIE HOUSTON HOMICIDE (NM State Police): Stephanie died when her jealous and abusive boyfriend, Patrick Murillo, ran her over with his truck after he saw her dancing with another man. OMI urged that the death be investigated as a homicide. Within days, scene investigator, Mark McCracken, (see “Melanie McCracken Case”), was telling the media that NMSP had fully investigated the case and Stephanie caused her own death because she was falling-down drunk. In truth, they had questioned no witnesses, done no reconstruction, and the toxicology test showed Stephanie had consumed about one beer. Stephanie’s father, Bill Houston, conducted his own investigation, questioning witnesses and accumulating information. In July 2002, Bill was charged with stalking because of his efforts to acquire information about Murillo. In May 2003, an investigative reporter exposed NMSP’s mishandling of the case, accusing them of glossing over possible domestic violence and failing to follow fundamental investigative techniques including never conducting an accident reconstruction. The case was then reopened and in Dec. 2003, Murillo was indicted for vehicular homicide

4/10/00: APD Officer Andrew Lehocky was sent with other officers to respond to a call that resident Jimmy Castillo had threatened to commit suicide. As Mr. Castillo walked from his residence, unarmed, on the order of the police (who had promised him that his pastor was outside waiting for him), Lehocky unleashed his attack dog, Bart, and issued the “fass” (attack command). The attack resulted in serious bites on Mr. Castillo’s ankles, thighs, and calves.

4/23/00: APD Officer Tom Benard committed “aggravated battery with a deadly weapon” by beating a handcuffed homicide suspect with a metal baton. (It was later confirmed that the suspect was the wrong person.) The suspect sustained head injuries. A police belt tape recorded Benard telling a colleague, “I popped him one good in the head for you.” An Internal Affairs Investigation found sufficient evidence to support allegations of excessive force.

4/25/00 APD Officer Andrew Lehocky burst into a private residence, with no search warrant, because a “meth” lab was supposedly inside. His attack dog, “Bart,” was then sent in and attacked Maureen Patterson-Montgomery, while she was sitting in her bathtub, terrified.

5/29/00 APD Officer Andrew Lehocky intercepted a call for a routine officer response to a reported neighbor disturbance. Arriving on the scene, Lehocky believed that one neighbor, David Chamberlain, threw some garbage at him. Lehocky responded by ordering his dog, Bart, to attack. Bart, however, refused to attack and maul the unresisting man. Lehocky then pulled Mr. Chamberlin out of a parked car, slammed him on the ground, picked Bart up, placed Bart with his muzzle to Chamberlin’s legs and, again, ordered Bart to attack. Bart attacked while Lehocky began dragging Chamberlain on the ground. Mr. Chamberlin received serious injury to his legs, back, and stomach.

6/1/00: Albuquerque Journal: JUDGE REFUSES TO QUASH EX-APD SGT’S SUIT AGAINST CITY-- A federal judge rejected a request to throw out a 1999 lawsuit alleging APD retaliated against former police sergeant David Guzman for speaking out against alleged discrimination and misconduct. Guzman, who took early retirement after 22 years with APD, mostly with a unit dealing with drug interdiction, alleged he was passed over six times for promotion to lieutenant and transferred to a section consisting of street-level detectives because he was an outspoken member of two unions representing Hispanic officers and because he complained about alleged police misconduct. The lawsuit said Guzman told supervisors about an APD captain involved in a domestic dispute involving a gun. He said, during that investigation, he found 58 phone calls made from the captain's home to a known drug dealer and that officers severely beat up a drug informant.

7/9/00: Albuquerque Journal: APD Officer Robert Middleton chased pedestrian, William Lancaster, 18, and ran over him with his police car, causing numerous broken bones and brain damage. Lancaster was suspected of planning to shoplift a six-pack of beer.

9/5/00: APD Officer Andrew LeHocky sicced his 80-pound attack dog, Bart, on Eddie Mae Patterson, an unarmed homeless woman who was asleep at the time. Another city officer allegedly slapped the wounded Patterson, who is black, and used ethnic slurs against her while she was in an ambulance on her way to the hospital. Patterson was left strapped to a gurney for seven hours and wasn’t allowed proper follow-up medical care for the deep gash on her arm after she was booked into Bernalillo County Detention Center. LeHocky and Bart had recently been recognized with an "Officer of the Month" award. This case was settled for $210,000.00

4/15/01: CRYSTAL HOUSTON HOMICIDE (Socorro PD): Crystal was found dead in her home, severely beaten with blunt force injuries to her legs, arms, neck and head, just 14 months after the death of her sister, Stephanie (see “Stephanie Houston Case.”) Crystal’s blouse was pulled up over her head, her bra had been torn off and her pants were pulled down around her ankles. The OMI listed the cause of death as undetermined because Crystal also had some drugs and alcohol in her system. A prison escapee, who had been in Crystal's home on the night of her death, was found in another city with Crystal's car after trying to cash Crystal's checks, but police said that without a definitive cause of death they could not arrest him. It took until June 2003 and extensive pressure from the media for the state lab to ship DNA evidence that had been submitted to the state crime lab at the time of her death to a lab in California to be processed. Final DNA results are still pending, though preliminary tests match the prison escapee. A special prosecutor has finally been appointed after the Socorro District Attorney refused to prosecute.

4/17/01: Deputy Chief Ray Schultz announced that eight to ten APD officers faced punishment for a 1999 plot to illegally steal premium satellite television service by downloading computer software that allowed them to reprogram subscription cards. Schultz stated that none of the officers would be dismissed, but would be “reminded that they shouldn’t do things like that.”

6/6/01: Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy Tom Lujan and other unnamed deputies, seized and arrested Michael Bradford, 16, as he and his sister Robin, 15, waited for their mother to pick them up after a concert. There had been fights at the concert, but the Bradford children were not involved. Deputies arrested and handcuffed Michael, threw him onto the hood of a squad car, kneed him in the groin, knocked him to the ground and kicked and beat him until he lost consciousness. They grabbed Robin, tore her shirt off, and called her a “whore.” A civil rights suit contended the assault occurred "because Michael was a young black man close enough for officers to grab." The charges against Michael were later dropped. The Bradfords’ civil suits claiming excessive use of force, false arrest, malicious prosecution and negligence were settled out for $45,000.

8/15/01: Albuquerque Journal: Former APD Officer Matt Griffin, serving a life sentence in NM State Prison, attacked a guard with a home-made knife. Griffin had at least two dozen other serious misconduct reports involving property damage and attacks on inmates and officers. "He's a repetitive security challenge for this facility," said prison spokesperson, Gerges Scott.

8/29/01: APD Sgt. Mike Garcia, supervisor of officers assigned to public schools, was indicted on sex charges involving a 12-yr-old girl who was staying the night with one of Garcia’s daughters. (When he was tried in 2004, the jury was deadlocked, and the prosecutors did seek a retrial.)

8/31/01: APD Officer Cliff Saylor loosed his Belgian Malinois attack dog, Buddy, on Billy Booker and Pauline Extrada, a homeless couple who were sleeping on the porch of a downtown building. The City tried to settle the case with the victims at 4 a.m., three hours after the attack, while the two were at a hospital on pain medication, thus violating a state law that prohibits immediate settlements while a person is hospitalized. Booker couldn’t even read the paperwork he was asked to sign because he is illiterate.

10/31/01: Off-duty Albuquerque police officer, Tom Sholtis, encountered Deena Tanberg, (the wife of an Albuquerque FBI agent), chatting with a woman friend in a public park after hours. Sholtis ordered the two women to come toward him, and when they didn’t instantly comply, Sholtis “violently slammed Deena Tanberg to the ground, fracturing her arm and causing her ligament damage.” The audiotape from Officer Sholtis’s belt-mounted recorder reflects that he grabbed Deena and broke her arm within 20 seconds of first encountering her, before she had even determined that Sholtis was, indeed, a law enforcement officer.

11/01: Three police officers from the Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety were investigated for Cable theft after a citywide sting. All three investigations were dropped. One officer, Scott Kellogg, was promoted to lieutenant.

11/9/01: Albuquerque Journal: Department of Justice auditors are questioning how the Albuquerque Police Department spent up to $1.5 million in grant money that was supposed to be used to hire officers.

11/10/01: Albuquerque Journal: The Police Oversight Commission announced that the Albuquerque Police Department has installed an "early warning system" that will identify officers whose behavior or performance may be slipping. The first report indicated that 10 officers and two sergeants should be evaluated. The combined records for the dozen officers identified included 62 uses of force, four lawsuits filed, and nine internal investigations.

11/10/01: Albuquerque Journal: APD MISTREATED MENTALLY DISABLED MAN - The sister of Fred Hildebrandt, a mentally retarded man, is suing Albuquerque police for leaving her brother shackled for almost five hours at his home. The Albuquerque Police Department said they hasn't reviewed the July 16 shackling incident so could not comment.

12/01: Albuquerque Journal: The Albuquerque Police Department admitted to the incoming mayor, Martin Chavez, that they may have gone nearly $6 million over budget this year.

2/7/02: Albuquerque Journal: The budget shortfall that forced city officials to consider layoffs and spending cuts grew by another $1 million as the Albuquerque Police Department found yet another $1 million in over-spending.

2/14/02: Albuquerque Tribune: Two APD officers shot Leon Casey Arthur to death outside a motel when he allegedly make a “threatening approach,” brandishing what officers say they thought was a weapon. The item in Arthur’s hand was a hairbrush.

2/02: Officer Aaron Julian, Rio Rancho Dept. of Public Safety, was indicted for five felony counts of child abuse. The DA failed to send a Grand Jury Target letter so all charges were dropped. Aaron Julian's wife was then arrested and charged with the five felony counts.

4/7/02: APD Officer Craig O'Neil, a seven-year veteran who worked as a field investigator, was booked into the Bernalillo Detention Center on charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and false imprisonment.

4/22/02: Albuquerque Journal: Within minutes of initiating a chase of a man suspected of criminal trespass, an unidentified APD officer had the suspect face down and limp, kicking him so many times that a bystander stepped in to stop him. When the officer dragged the suspect backward by the handcuffs, the bystander intervened again, trying to help the man get up and walk. The bystander, who didn't know the suspect, repeatedly asked for the officer's badge number. But the officer wouldn't respond. This same officer was the recipient of three other complaints in two years — improperly macing and punching a suspect; swerving in and out of traffic; and improperly shooting a Rottweiler. He wasn't found to be at fault in any of the cases.

5/23/02: During an arrest by APD, Detective Gerald Hicks observed a bystander taking notes. Hicks asked to see the notes, and the bystander, David Shaw, stated they were personal notes and were none of the detective’s business. Hicks responded by grabbing Shaw in a chokehold and throwing him to the ground, confiscated the notes, and filed a criminal complaint against Shaw for refusing to obey him.

5/26/02, Albuquerque Journal: APD DOG BITES COST CITY MORE THAN $940,000: The city of Albuquerque, over the past decade, has paid more than $725,000 to settle APD dog-bite claims. Meanwhile, private lawyers defending K-9 officers in ongoing lawsuits have billed the city another $217,000 in fees and costs over the past two years. Police dogs have bitten dozens of citizens who were neither armed nor violent. In some cases, police gave no verbal warning a dog would be unleashed. Officers in several cases allowed their dogs to continue biting suspects after the initial apprehension. In one case, an unarmed suspect was ordered to walk toward a police officer with the police dog still clenching her buttock.

6/8/02, Albuquerque Journal: The city-county jail paid former inmate, Vincent Cordova, a $25,000 settlement for injuries sustained in fights between inmates, orchestrated by corrections officers, who arranged the fights and cheered and made bets on the results.

6/11/02: TROY PINO SUSPICIOUS DEATH (Santa Rosa PD): Troy died four days after a brutal assault by his girlfriend’s ex-husband, Edward Lucero. Witnesses reported that the 260-pound Lucero knocked Troy to the floor, beat him with his fists and kicked him repeatedly with steel-tipped shoes. The first officer at the scene was Lucero’s nephew, Officer Justin Anaya. The second to arrive was Officer Anthony Ortega. Neither officer was certified. Although Troy was calling out for help, the officers made no attempt to stop the assault. Instead, Officer Anaya, sprayed him in the face with mace. The supervising officer, Officer Joe E. Martinez, who arrived slightly after that, was Lucero’s best friend. He terminated the assault by physically restraining Lucero. No arrests were made and no charges filed. No medical attention was sought for Troy. Although there were seven other witnesses, police made no mention of Lucero’s assault in their reports. The following day, Officer Martinez forced Troy out of his girlfriend's car as they prepared to drive to Las Vegas, New Mexico. Martinez followed Troy for several hours. Troy went to a friend's house where he fell ill from the beating and was transported to the hospital in Santa Rosa. He was airlifted to UNMH where he died.

7/02. Rio Rancho Observer: Sandoval County Sheriff Deputy Pete Montoya was indicted on 18 counts of criminal sexual contact with a 5-yr-old child. (Montoya was the lead detective in the John Sherman case, 12/27/98.)

1/28/03: RUSSELL CAGE SUSPICIOUS DEATH (Bloomfield PD and Farmington PD): Russell died of a gunshot wound to the head outside the trailer home of his girlfriend, Sylvia Anaya. Police closed the case as a suicide with no investigation and without even seeing the autopsy report. The gun, which was not Russell’s, was not identified or processed for prints. The sizes of the head wounds indicate that the entry wound was most likely on the left side of Russell’s head. Russell was right handed. According to police, the bullet passed through Russell’s head, made an 86-degree turn, and continued on through the wall of the trailer, striking the headboard of Sylvia’s bed and dropping to the carpet. Russell stood 5’10” and the bullet hole in the trailer is less that 4’ from the ground. Sylvia’s brother, Isaac Anaya, is linked to the Eastside Brown Pride Gang. Russell had been telling people that members of that gang were involved in the beating and shooting death of a man named Dominic Martinez. Russell even claimed that the weapons had been hidden in Sylvia’s trailer home. Three weeks prior to Russell’s death, Russell was in a fight with a member of the Brown Pride Gang who threatened to kill him. One gang member reportedly has brothers on both the Bloomfield Police Force and the San Juan Sheriff’s Dept.

5/3/03: Karen Yontz was chased down in her car and shot to death by two Albuquerque Police Officers who suspected her of robbing a bank. Yontz was a longtime criminal investigator with both the Attorney General's Office and the District Attorney's Office in Santa Fe and a former Bernalillo County sheriff's deputy. At the time of her death, Yontz was building a case against Municipal Judge Charles Maestas, who was facing 28 criminal charges of trading judicial favors for sex with women who appeared before his court. She was also investigating the Russell Cage case (see above).

5/15/03: APD Officer Bryan Killinger was fined $15,000 for unlawful detention and excessive force against a bicyclist, Jackie Shane. Killinger did a U-turn in front of Shane, almost causing an accident. When she called out to him to use a turn signal, he grabbed her by the head and pulled her off her bike, throwing it to the ground and stomping on the rear wheel. He, then, hit her, handcuffed her, and threatened to file false charges against her.

6/20/03: Albq. Journal: APD Officer Duane Currell was indicted on charges he coerced a woman into exposing herself and then grabbed her during a traffic stop.

6/22/03: Bernalillo County deputies were called to the home of police-watchdog activist Gilbert Elizondo and his wife after the death of his wife’s mother, who died of natural causes. Sgt. Natalie Jasler tried to prevent Mrs. Elizondo from viewing her mother's body, and when Elizondo stepped in to block a blow by Jasler to his wife, Jazler slapped and kicked the couple. Elizondo was then arrested on a charge of aggravated assault on a peace officer. Jasler kneed Elizondo in the groin several times while he was handcuffed and other deputies held him. Jasler’s charges against Elizondo were later dropped

6/27/03: Albq. Journal: APD Officer Christopher Chase was indicted on 32 counts of using his official vehicle to stop motorists for sex. Charges include felony counts of kidnapping, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, criminal sexual penetration of alleged victims of both sexes including minors and eight petty misdemeanor counts of battery. The indictment suggests Chase took care to avoid apprehension, in one instance forcing the victim to wash her hands of evidence with a sanitizer.

7/11/03: Albq. Journal: The Police Oversight Commission discovers that APD Chief Gil Gallegos overstepped his authority by arbitrarily reversing the commission’s findings in two police-shooting cases, exonerating the officers and classifying the shootings as justified. Gallegos said in commission documents that the case files were his and he could change the findings at any time.

8/03: APD has agreed to investigate its evidence unit in regard to the auctioning off of evidence and money missing from the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department. An informant has made claims that evidence has been destroyed and that "APD management has helped to cover up the crimes."

10/30/03, Albq. Journal: Albuquerque police and Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputies chased Toni Osborn, a 5-foot tall, 50-year-old activist, who had been circulating a petition seeking the removal of the mayor. They pinned her vehicle against an embankment, sprayed her with Mace, and sicced a police dog on her. The dog pulled Osborn half out of her vehicle and, once she was on the ground, remained locked on her arm while she was handcuffed before being taken to the hospital. "They (the police and dog) practically took her left arm off. They beat her. Her face is swollen to twice its size," said her husband, Loyd Osborn.” Police explained they’d been told that Osborn was “armed and dangerous.” Osborn, who was not armed, underwent two surgeries to save her arm.

10/31/03, Albq. Journal: NM State Police Officer Tomas Maes, shot a neighbor child’s Golden Retriever puppy in the face with a 45-caliber handgun, because it wandered into his yard after the neighbor, Vanessa Salizar, 12, accidentally left a gate open. Officer Maes explained he was concerned about the safety of his son who was playing next door at his parents' home. The State Police exonerated Maes of any wrongdoing. The dog survived the shooting but a few days later was poisoned.

10/31/03: New Mexico State Police Lt. Mark McCracken was indicted for the “willful, premeditated and deliberate” first degree murder of his wife, Melanie McCracken, and for evidence tampering. (See 8/5/95.) In addition, grand jurors requested that another grand jury be empanelled to "review the conduct" of the State Police in the inquiry.

10/1/03: HARRIET MOLDOV-TAYLOR RAPE AND HOMICIDE: Harriet, a disabled woman who lived alone, was found unconscious, in a diabetic coma, and bleeding from her mouth and rectum in her apartment. She died three days later. The OMI report described deep vaginal tears and ruled the cause of death strokes and blood loss caused by a violent sexual attack. APD refused to accept the possibility that anyone would enjoy raping a woman who was disabled and overweight and insisted Harriet’s injuries had to be self-inflicted. They have threatened to file a complaint against the first doctor who examined Harriet and are trying to convince the Medical Examiner to change her report to mesh with their own speculations.

12/8/03: Former NM Sheriff’s deputy James Trujillo was accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint in front of a Los Lunas bank and taking $20,000.

12/30/03: Albq. Journal-- Valencia County Magistrate John Sanchez, a former State Police officer himself, filed a federal civil rights suit against the New Mexico State Police for harassment of him and his family in retaliation for his attempts to persuade authorities to investigate NMSP Lt. Mark McCracken. (See 10/31/03).

12/31/03, Albq. Journal: Money, jewelry, gold coins, guns, and other items of value are alleged to be missing from the APD Evidence Unit. Chief Gallegos states this could be “anything from theft to poor record keeping.” The issue is classified as “an internal personnel matter.” No employees in the evidence unit had been disciplined or fired.

4/03: Defense attorney Ray Twohig sends a letter to the Attorney General’s Office requesting they investigate $7,000 in gold coins missing from the APD evidence room. He receives no response.

6/5/03: The Holguin family was terrorized by APD officers who stormed the house, guns blazing; blasted the door off its hinges; pelted the home with flash-gun grenades, and handcuffed all five family members. The officers, led by Capt. Robbin Burge, knocked the 80-yr-old grandmother, Carmen Holguin, to the floor and injured her so severely she had to be rushed to the hospital. They, then, swigged drinks from the refrigerator, threw the search warrant on the floor, and left. The Holguins had no criminal history and were never charged with anything. Police had stormed the wrong house. In 2002, Capt. Burge was named APD’s Plain Clothes Officer of the Year.

8/03: Defense attorney Ray Twohig again sends a letter to the Attorney General’s Office requesting they investigate $7,000 in gold coins missing from the evidence room. He again receives no response.

Aug. 2003:

A routine inspection of the evidence unit flags concerns over evidence that was mishandled at a police auction. APD Chief Gallegos orders an internal audit to investigate possible problems.

12/31/03: Nick Bakas, Albq.'s chief public safety officer, tells the press he has no knowledge of any internal audit of the APD evidence unit. However, APD Chief Gallegos confirms that there is such an audit. "We're looking at potential Standard Operating Procedure violations," he tells the media. That could mean anything from theft to poor record-keeping.

1/04: APD removes two employees from the evidence unit, after money is found missing. They are reassigned to a different division of APD.

1/9/04: Albq. Journal--The Police Oversight Commission found APD Officer Jay Rowland guilty of using unreasonable force during an unwarranted attack on Lane Leckman during an anti-war demonstration on March 20, 2003.

1/21/04: Albq. Tribune: DEATH CASES ANGER KIN: VICTIMS’ FAMILIES UNITE, SEEK GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY IN INVESTIGATIONS: Families of 24 NM homicide victims are fed up with law enforcement agencies they say have botched or covered up investigations, allowing dozens of killers to go free. Today they are also fed up with keeping silent.

“Our family is one of many in the Land of Enchantment who are forced to battle the very system that is supposedly here to protect and serve us in order to obtain justice for our murdered loved ones,” said Gabino Venegas Jr., whose son was killed in a 1998 hit-and-run crash that a private investigator claims was caused by a sheriff’s vehicle. Family members are uniting under the name New Mexico Justice Project to demand better accountability from law enforcement agencies. The agencies include the Albq. PD, Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety, NM State Police, Sandoval Co. Sheriff’s Dept, and the police departments of Socorro, Gallup, Santa Rosa, Bloomfield, Farmington and the Navajo Tribal Criminal Investigators.

2/04, Albq. Journal: Chris Jones sues APD to get back $10,000 cops seized from him in 2001 in a criminal case he was never charged in. The money, which was in a locked safe in his home, and was from a settlement Jones received from an automobile accident. The lawsuit is asking a federal judge to stop APD and the city from indefinitely holding seized property without following state forfeiture procedures.

2/28/04, Albq. Journal: A surveillance video show nine guards at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo county beating three shackled inmates as they are being checked into the facility. The inmates were forced into a wall face first, struck in the face with a fist, and viciously beaten for 17 minutes.

3/4/04, Albq. Journal: The Attorney General has initiated an investigation of theft of "thousands of dollars in cash, drugs, guns, jewelry and other high dollar items" from the APD evidence room and is looking at APD’s handling of their own alleged investigation of this situation. An anonymous letter to the AG’s office claims that evidence was destroyed and that "APD management has even helped to cover up the crimes."

3/4/04, KRQE TV Evening News: Total of thefts from APD Evidence Room could equal hundreds of thousands of dollars. “One difficulty in uncovering this story has been the widespread reluctance of rank and file officers to talk about the problem. Again and again officers told KRQE News 13 that they've been warned their jobs are at stake if they talk.”

3/5/04, KRQE TV Evening News: At least a dozen corrections officers are suspected in the repeated and premeditated assault of three inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center. The Bernalillo County Sheriff's office is investigating the incident at MDC, and Sheriff Darren White says he expects criminal charges to be filed.

3/5/04: City Independent Review Officer Jay Rowland paid a surprise visit to APD’s transfer station to the Metropolitan Detention Center in response to complaints from concerned citizens alleging prisoners were being beaten up by officers. At 11 p.m., Rowland discovered numerous atrocities, including 27 prisoners crammed into a 12x15’ holding room; two prisoners handcuffed outside the facility in the cold, one with his pants down and shoes off for two hours, the other with no coat and no shoes.

3/11/04: The APD transfer center was shut down due to Rowland’s report. Police officers will now have to personally transport prisoners to the Metropolitan Detention Center almost 20 miles west of town.

3/12/04, KRQE TV: Suspended prison guard, Ted Arana, who is under investigation for his role in the brutal beating of inmates, gives a motivational speech to hundreds of students at West Mesa High School, describing how he assaulted inmates regularly. The school district says the Corrections Dept. was responsible for selecting Arana to send to the school.

3/18/04, Albq. Journal: It has now been determined that 12 to 20 jail guards or staff, including supervisors, were involved in the Feb. 24 beating of three shackled inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Mayor Martin Chavez said there is a culture at the jail that allows the mistreatment of prisoners. “These idiots have cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars" (in civil suits, etc.)

3/18/04, Albq. Journal: Valencia County sheriff's deputy Michael Gabaldon is indicted on four counts of fourth-degree-felony perjury charges for lying under oath about the results of a breath alcohol test he administered.

4/17/04, KRQE News: Inmate James Barber was hospitalized after Cibola County Center Director John Gould shot him with almost a dozen rounds of from a powerful rubber bullet gun. Barber was naked in his cell when the assault occurred. The company that manufacturers the rubber bullet gun says the weapon is very powerful and used in prison riots and crowd control situations. The F.B.I. says a grand jury indicted Gould on similar charges when he was employed at the Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces.

4/30/04: Chief Judge John Brennan of Albuquerque was arrested at a DWI checkpoint and charged with drug possession and tampering with evidence.

7/8/04: The arrest of Judge Brennan for drug possession spurred the disclosure of a confidential narcotics report alleging that Brennan’s cocaine use was known by law enforcement officers for years. The report also includes information about drug activities involving numerous other prominent New Mexicans. “It draws on a variety of sources and reads like a Who’s Who of New Mexico drug underworld,” said KRQE TV reporter Larry Barker. “Judges, lawyers, politicians, sports celebrities and prominent businessmen appear in the report right along side the State’s narcotics kingpins.” David Iglesias, US Attorney for New Mexico, called the detailed document about drug smuggling and money laundering in New Mexico “a page-turner I couldn’t put down.”

7/19/04: The trial of APD Sgt. Mike Garcia, indicted for sex charges involving a 12-yr-old girl (see 8/29.01) ended in a locked jury. The prosecutor has dropped charges because the girl does not want to go through a retrial.

8/03/04, KRQE News: NM State police officer accused of sexually assaulting a female domestic violence victim in the pack of his patrol car has resigned after a multi-agency investigation into the allegations. His name will not be released.

12/16/04, Albq. Journal: An APD officer stole $700 from a man he arrested for drunken driving, according to an investigation conducted by the city's Independent Review Office. On the day he was to take a polygraph, the officer resigned. APD will not release the officer’s name.

12/21/04, Albq. Journal -- APD officials say they still don't know if guns, weapons, drugs, jewelry and money are missing from their evidence room, despite a nine-month criminal investigation. A review conducted by a private company reports that "no one (in the evidence room) can say that there is not evidence missing at this time." Police officials said it was up to the Attorney General's Office— not them— to figure out what if anything is missing.

12/29/04, Albq. Journal: Lack of action by APD leadership may have allowed employees of APD's Evidence Unit to destroy traces of wrongdoing in order to avoid criminal prosecution, according to Larry Sonntag, commander of APD's Inspections and Accreditation Unit. After problems with the evidence unit came to light, preventive action was not taken to restrict the destruction of evidence for a full year. "During that time period, numerous computer and paper records were lost, altered or destroyed to the extent that limited if any criminal prosecution is possible now," Sonntag stated.

12/2004: Dec. 2004: A teenage male was awarded $17,000 for his claim that APD Officer Christopher Chase beat him with a flashlight in September 2002.

1/20/05, Albq. Journal: A State Police narcotics agent has resigned amid an FBI investigation stemming from allegations he was dealing drugs.

2/05: A brownish liquid is allegedly spotted near a plastic tub used to store evidence from methamphetamine cases. APD hires a hazardous removal company to dispose of contaminated evidence. The chemical damage and cleanup destroy evidence from hundreds of cases.

2/12/05, Albq. Trib.: APD Officer Christopher Chase was found guilty of assault, battery, false imprisonment and loss of due process for raping a woman in the back seat of his squad car. The victim was awarded $ 943,380. "Frankly, I think you can sleep very well with that verdict," Senior U.S. District Judge John Conway told the jurors.

3/9/05: APD officers discover untagged drugs, guns, and money lying around the evidence room with no record of where they came from.

3/05: Capt. Marie Miranda, overseer of the APD evidence unit, writes Chief Gallegos a letter informing him that in Feb., 2005, the cleanup of a hazardous chemical destroyed evidence from hundreds of drug cases. Evidence from homicide and sexual assault cases were also "compromised." At least 20% of those cases are still pending. Miranda insists that the department had an ethical obligation to notify the District Attorney's Office, which it didn’t do.

3/10/05: APD Capt Ron Paiz, who ordered an investigation into high-ranking members of the police department, is removed from his position overseeing the internal affairs unit. Instead, the unit will report directly to the chief. "I don't know why I was removed,” Paiz said. “No explanation was given to me.”

3/05: Chris Jones files a suit against APD and the city asserting that, when her boyfriend was arrested by police in a domestic violence case, police searched their apartment, broke open a safe and took $10,000 in cash. Jones says she has tried to get the money back, but the police refuse to turn it over.

3/05: Three federal lawsuits are filed by attorneys who claim APD lost property belonging to their clients. In all three cases, the attorneys are representing people who were never prosecuted.

3/11/05: A majority of Albuquerque's city councilors say it’s time they stepped in and examine the problems at APD. Council member Eric Griego calls for a city council hearing on the evidence-room problems.

3/11/05: APD Officers Union votes "no confidence" in Deputy Chief Ed Sauer’s leadership because of problems in the APD evidence room.

3/15/05: Police disclose that the chemical leak in the APD evidence unit destroyed evidence in 235 cases, at least 20% of which are still pending.

3/17/05: Whistle-blower, APD Capt. Miranda, who reported the chemical leak, is placed on administrative leave and asked to turn in her badge, gun and squad car.

3/18/05: A gun from a murder case that is supposed to go to trial is missing from the APD evidence room. APD did not inform the prosecutors.

3/19/05: APD Sgt. Cynthia Orr gave a media interview, starting out, “This is probably going to end my career.” Orr said Chief Gilbert Gallegos failed to act despite repeated warnings of evidence theft. Orr said that, in Aug. 2003, she identified two people who were stealing in the evidence room, but Gallegos allowed them to continue to work there, which enabled them to destroy evidence that would have proven their guilt. She said she discovered thefts when property went to auction and the list of property taken out of the evidence room was longer than the list of property the auctioneer received. "Am I implicating the chief is assisting to do this cover-up? Absolutely. Do I know this is a dangerous accusation to make? Absolutely. But I know this is something that needs to be done." Orr said a deputy chief forbade her to send reports of missing evidence to the records department, because they didn’t want it to become public record that things were missing. She said officers under criminal investigations for such things as DUI or domestic violence were allowed to work in the evidence room where they could oversee the evidence in their own criminal cases.

3/22/05: While pounding on a lectern, Police Chief Gilbert Gallegos told city councilors he has been personally attacked over evidence room problems. Cuncilor, Eric Griego, brought to the meeting 15 e-mails from officers who feared speaking out because of possible retaliation.

3/22/05: Charlene Perez filed a suit claiming the APD evidence room “lost” $100,000 worth of her family jewelry wouldn’t return it despite a court order.

3/23/05: Sgt. Orr says deputy chiefs encouraged other officers to retaliate because she spoke out. This occurred at two citywide meetings attended by hundreds of officers who were ordered to be there.

3/25/05: Four Albuquerque police employees— including two officers— are implicated in the disappearance of $75,000-$200,000 in money from the evidence room. Investigators from the state AG Office say drugs may also have been removed because "we have discovered a way that this could have occurred without anyone detecting." Police employees were able to move evidence out of inventory by falsifying auction documents, manipulating APD’s evidence tracking system and using computer access codes of other employees.

3/30/05: The list of valuable property from evidence room that has been sold at auction or “taken to the dump” continues to grow. An example of such items is a $15,000 plasma TV set, evidence in a white-collar crime investigation, which was supposed to be returned to the owner after the trial. Evidence room personnel state they took the TV to the dump because it had a crack in it.

3/3/05: Mayor Martin Chavez tell the media, “"When you have a department where there are accusations, counter-accusations, lieutenants accusing captains, captains accusing deputy chiefs, deputy chiefs accusing captains, that is a department in disarray." Whereupon Police Chief Gilbert Gallegos resigns.

3/31/05: In a furious tirade, laced with profanity, APD Deputy Chief Paul Chavez warned his lieutenants that if they ever openly criticized the administration he would yank them from their command. Lt. Joseph Byers taped the diatribe and filed a complaint with athe city’s Labor Management Board. "He was trying to intimidate us,” Byers said. “Others will not come forward because they are scared."

4/7/03: It’s disclosed that In Feb. 03, an APD freezer containing more than 1,600 samples of blood, urine, saliva and other evidence from rapes and homicides was shut down because of a freon leak, causing some materials to thaw. 40 criminal cases may be affected, at least 15 homicides and 10 rapes. The police and the DA’s office withheld that information from defense attorneys, who continued to construct their cases on contaminated evidence.

4/24/05: Three federal lawsuits have been filed against APD alleging the department lost or failed to return more than $16,000 that was seized from people who were never charged with a crime.

5/21/05, Albq. Journal: The Department of Public Safety paid $300,000 to settle a tort claim by black former State Police officer Dexter Brock. On May 22, 2000, UMSP officers forced Brock out of his squad car with mace, dragged him across a parking lot, handcuffed him to a telephone pole in the dark, and photographed his humiliation, while calling him “nigger” and other racial slurs. Police say the officers were disciplined, but won't say who they were or what the punishment was.

5/22/05. Albq. Journal: APD is the subject of five personal injury lawsuits in which victims were injured or killed in Officer-Involved car crashes and APD lost witness statements, didn't interview people who saw the crashes, or refused to turn over evidence to the plaintiffs.

Among those cases: Christine Roessner was the passenger on a motorcycle on Oct. 18, 2003, when a police officer cut them off, stopped suddenly and caused the motorcycle to crash. Roessner was left paralyzed and with permanent brain damage

The APD report did not mention the car was a police car and stated only that motorcycle failed to slow down for traffic. The report said there were no witness statements because people who saw the crash would not cooperate with officers. However, Roessner's attorney found two witnesses who said they gave statements to police. APD attorneys then acknowledged that there were witness statements but they were accidentally lost.

Abel Trujillo was killed on 4/2/04 when a police car ran a stop sign and struck his car. APD said they could find no witnesses, but insist the officer had his lights and sirens on. However a PI found several witnesses who saw the crash and claim the lights and sirens were not on. The city will settle out of court.

Patrick Moser and Marcy Mease sued the city in 2003, claiming an APD officer was negligent when he ran a red light and slammed into a van they were in. Their attorneys sought sanctions after they tried for seven months to get copies of radio transmissions, accident measurements and copies of recordings from officers' belt recorders. The city eventually settled for $125,000.

5-25-05, Albq. Tribune: APD vice unit detective Timothy Chavez, a 13 yr. Veteran of APD, recipient of the 1998 Law Enforcement Officer/Hero of the Year Award, is charged with the kidnap and rape of a 14-yr-old girl he “met” on a dating phone line.

5-25-05 -- NMSP Officers Thomas Morrissey and Saul Canialis got drunk and cussed out two APD officers, insisting they were superior because they were state police and APD was just city. Things escalated until nine APD officers subdued and arrested their State Police counterparts.

Source:

Israel: Grant Status Long Denied to Arab Village in Central Israel

2010-10-09T01:50:00.000-05:00

Discriminatory Planning Procedures Prevent Access to Basic Services; Court to Rule on Demolition Orders

October 8, 2010

The 600 people of Dahmash are treated as if they don't exist, while Jewish towns are developed nearby in a way that threatens Dahmash residents' access to their homes and lands. Planning authorities should end this discriminatory treatment, immediately recognize Dahmash's residential status, and provide the basic services denied for decades.
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director

(Jerusalem) - The Israeli government should grant legal status to a 60-year-old village with a population of about 600 Palestinian-Israeli citizens, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities have refused to recognize the village as residential, even as they approved an immediately adjacent residential development for Jewish Israelis. The authorities have given no justification for the difference in treatment.

Dahmash, approximately 20 kilometers from Tel Aviv between the cities of Ramle and Lod in central Israel, has been inhabited since at least 1951, and its residents are Israeli citizens. The authorities refuse to rezone the land as residential - although they have done so in neighboring areas - and refuse to provide basic services such as paved roads, sewage, health facilities, kindergartens, and schools, despite numerous petitions by residents. Instead, the authorities consider almost every one of the 70 houses "illegal," and 13 are under threat of demolition. A court is to decide the issue on October 11, 2010.

"The 600 people of Dahmash are treated as if they don't exist, while Jewish towns are developed nearby in a way that threatens Dahmash residents' access to their homes and lands," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Planning authorities should end this discriminatory treatment, immediately recognize Dahmash's residential status, and provide the basic services denied for decades."

The prohibition of discrimination, which includes any unjustified differential treatment that has the effect of impairing the equal recognition of human rights on the grounds of race, ethnicity, or religion, is one of the most fundamental prohibitions under international human rights law.

Plans for a highway interchange in the area and construction plans that local officials say are intended for residential developments for Jewish Israelis in the area would block almost all existing entrances to Dahmash.

The lack of basic services such as drainage and sewage systems leads to persistent flooding of Dahmash's unpaved roads in winter. The main entrance to Dahmash is a gravel road from Ramle, where Dahmash residents receive some services and where the 200 Dahmash children attend schools. Residents told Human Rights Watch that when it rains the children have to walk through knee-high water on their way to the school bus. The village has no waste disposal services, despite residents' petitions to the Lod Valley Regional Council, the local government with jurisdiction over Dahmash.

The village has no green space or outdoor playgrounds. In 2006, a nongovernmental organization donated playground equipment, but once it was erected the Israeli Land Administration issued demolition orders on the grounds that the playground was constructed without a permit. On February 10, 2007, the Ramle District Court rejected a petition by Dahmash residents to cancel the demolition order, although the authorities have not yet removed the equipment.

The 70 homes in Dahmash are built on 160 dunams (40 acres), most of which the Israeli government granted to Palestinians in the early 1950s as compensation for lands from which they had been displaced during the 1948 armed conflict, and to which the Israeli government prohibited them from returning. But the lands are officially designated for agricultural use only, and the planning authorities have refused to zone Dahmash for residential construction.

Many towns and neighborhoods in central Israel, including the new residential development bordering Dahmash, were also originally zoned for agricultural use, but authorities rezoned those lands to allow them to expand and created plans that permitted residential construction. Neither regional nor national authorities have provided such a plan for Dahmash. In the last few years both Ramle and Lod have constructed residential complexes restricted to military career personnel and religious Jews.

Dahmash residents paid for a plan and submitted it to the relevant planning committees in 2006, but the authorities shelved the plan until a 2008 court ruling obligated them to discuss it. On July 5, 2010, the Central Regional Committee for Planning and Construction rejected the plan, saying that it "sees no justification for the creation of a new village in central Israel." The planning body said that only the Interior Ministry could create a new village, and that it did not want to "legitimize illegal construction."

Since 1948, more than 900 Jewish villages and cities have been established in Israel, while the only new Arab towns allowed in 60 years have been seven towns that the government planned and constructed for Bedouin residents of the Negev. Many Palestinian-Israelis face restrictions in planning. Shatil's Mixed Cities Project, a nongovernmental organization, estimates that more than 70 percent of Arab homes in Ramle and Lod have no legal status. Official figures are not readily available.

Discrimination is prohibited by international human rights law, notably the Convention on the Elimination on All forms of Racial Discrimination, ratified by Israel in 1979. The Convention defines discrimination as any "distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights." The committee of experts that monitors and interprets this convention has stated that differential treatment will be considered discrimination if it is not justified, taking into account the purposes of the Convention.

"Israel should finally make good on its grant of land ownership to Dahmash residents by ceasing its discriminatory refusal to recognize their right to live on it," Stork said.

Access to the Village Blocked

A plan to build 888 housing units at the entrance to Ramle would block the main access road to Dahmash. The 145-dunam (35 acre) Maccabi District, which the Ramle mayor, Yoel Lavi, has promoted as Ramle's "flagship new neighborhood," would border Dahmash. It was also originally zoned for agricultural use but was re-designated in July 2006 for residential use.

Lavi, who sits on the planning committee that rejected Dahmash's plan, told Israeli television in 2004 that the Maccabi District was not meant for Arabs because allowing Palestinian-Israeli citizens to live there would "harm the ability to market the project since people won't want to live there." He said in the same interview that "93 percent of the Jewish population clearly prefers not to live in a mixed building." The project has not begun to advertise the homes, as it is not yet complete.

Dahmash residents petitioned the planning body to halt the construction, but the committee rejected the petition in 2006, and the courts upheld the planning body's decision in 2007 and again in 2010.

The Maccabi District would cut Dahmash off from the city of Ramle, where Dahmash residents receive services. It would leave open only one roadway into Dahmash, through Lod, which would lengthen the drive into the village and require crossing traffic and eight railroad tracks. A professional opinion submitted by a transportation expert to the court during the 2007 challenge to the Maccabi District maintained that the Lod road, which is unpaved and passes through fields, is unfit for emergency vehicles. The legal adviser to the Lod Valley regional council told a Knesset Internal Affairs committee meeting in January 2007 that the national master plan for Lod had designated the Dahmash area to become a highway interchange.

Addresses Denied

Israeli citizens receive services such as education, welfare, health, and postal services in the municipality where they are registered. But Dahmash residents are not permitted to list their actual address on their Israeli identification cards, since their village does not exist in the population registry.

Dahmash is in the area covered by the Lod Valley Regional Council, which oversees nine Jewish towns but has no registered Arab residents. It has no Arab-Israeli schools, which follow a separate curriculum from Jewish schools.

Thus, Dahmash residents have registered in nearby Ramle, a separate municipality in which 22.5 percent of the residents are Arab Israelis, according to official figures. Most Dahmash residents have been obliged to list their official addresses on Ha'Heshmonaim Street, Ramle, which borders Dahmash, even though they do not live on that street.

"What are we asking for?" Arafat Ismayil, the village spokesman, told Human Rights Watch. "An identity, an address, a life of dignity. You can see the discrimination with your eyes. They are allowed, we are not."

Barring Children From Schools

Ramle has tried to stop providing Dahmash residents some services, especially education. In 2005, Ramle refused to continue providing transportation from Dahmash to its schools; in 2006, the city tried to bar Dahmash children entering first grade from registering at its schools; and in 2009, Ramle ended a disabled two-year-old Dahmash resident's placement in a school and halted the child's transportation. Each time, Dahmash residents petitioned the courts, which ruled in favor of the children. Human Rights Watch documented in 2001 the discrimination in the Israeli education system between Palestinian-Israeli citizens and Jewish-Israeli citizens.

After Ramle discontinued transportation to its schools in September 2005, the Tel Aviv District Court ruled in November in favor of Dahmash residents and obligated the Lod Valley Regional Council to finance the transportation, a decision later backed by the Supreme Court. The court also ruled in 2009 that the regional council had to re-assume educational responsibility for a

two-year-old, who had been provided for by the city of Ramle up to that point, and to provide transportation for a 14-year-old disabled child to a special education facility in the city of Rishon Le'Zion and register him as a Lod Valley Regional Council resident. He remains the only Dahmash resident whose Israeli identification card officially lists him as a Lod Valley Regional Council resident, although Dahmash is not mentioned.

After Ramle tried to keep Dahmash children from registering for first grade in 2006, even though their siblings had been attending the schools for at least 10 years, the Tel Aviv District Court ruled in May that the municipality must allow the children's continued registration.

Zoning and Demolition Orders

In 2004, Israeli authorities ordered the demolition of 17 houses in Dahmash on the grounds that they were built on "agricultural" lands and thus illegal. Most of the other 53 homes in the village had been built in the 1950s, when the area was still zoned under a regional plan, "R/6", from the time of the British mandate. Three were built before 1948 and thus maintain a "legal" status. Subsequently the Israeli government replaced R/6 with a master plan that designated the area as agricultural land on which residential construction was prohibited. According to the National Unit for Construction Oversight, the village now has 120 illegal structures, including the 70 homes.

In March 2006, Israeli police demolished four "illegal" homes in Dahmash. The owners of the other 13 homes are still contesting the demolition orders in court.

In 2005, Menashe Moshe, head of the Lod Valley Regional Council, told Israel's business paper, Globes, that while "the land does belong to the residents," Dahmash "does not exist" as a residential community because the land was zoned for agricultural use. Moshe said he rejected the residents' request to become an agricultural town, similar to the nine other towns in his council, because "the residents are not farmers and their land is not suited for agriculture." However, Moshe accepts Dahmash residents' agricultural taxes, which are submitted for "fields near Nir-Zvi," the nearest Jewish town. He refuses to accept payment of residential taxes, residents told Human Rights Watch.

After the demolitions in 2006, residents paid for the "detailed plan" required for residential construction that planning authorities had provided to neighboring Jewish communities but not to Dahmash. It included a request to change Dahmash's zoning designation to permit residential building. Residents submitted it for approval to the district planning authorities in Ramle on July 17, 2006, but the authorities ignored the submission for more than 18 months. A planner from the regional planning committee told a Knesset committee hearing on Dahmash in January 2007 that plans usually receive a response within two to three weeks.

On January 30, 2008, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court for Procedural Affairs found that the committee had "abstained from discussing the plan" and ordered the committee to discuss it. The judgment reminded the regional planning authorities that the definition of the village's land as agricultural land "is not a decree from heaven" and that "the Israel planning and construction law allows for rezoning land and changing its designation."

The planning committee finally discussed the plan on July 5, 2010, but rejected it on the grounds that authorization would imply the creation of a new town, which only the Interior Ministry can do. On August 9, 2010, the Interior Ministry approved the residents' request to appeal the rejection to the national planning committee.

The regional committee also rejected an alternative option that would have allowed Dahmash residents to own their homes "legally" by including Dahmash as a neighborhood of Ramle or Lod. Lavi, Ramle's mayor, told a journalist in 2006 that his solution to the illegal building in Dahmash was to "take two D10 bulldozers, the kind the IDF uses in the Golan Heights, two border police units to secure the area, and go from one side to the other [...] when you give the first shock with the crane everyone runs from their houses, don't worry."

In January 2007, while planning authorities were supposed to be considering the residents' submission of the plan, the Lod police tried to demolish some of the 13 other homes. Residents prevented the demolitions by locking themselves inside their homes. On April 11, 2010, board inspectors from the central region and the Lod Valley Regional Council, accompanied by police, informed Dahmash residents that the demolition orders against the 13 homes would be executed within days. The Central District Court later ordered a suspension of the demolitions, saying that it would decide the fate of the buildings on October 11.

"We live in constant fear that tomorrow we will no longer have a home," Ismayil said.

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Humiliating Israeli video condemned

2010-10-07T13:46:00.002-05:00

Clip of an Israeli soldier dancing around a female prisoner called illustrative of "sick mentality of occupier".

A video of a male Israeli soldier bellydancing around a bound and blindfolded female prisoner has been received with disgust among Palestinians and in the Middle East.

The video provoked an angry response from the Palestinians on Tuesday.

The clip, which came to light after it was screened on Israel's private Channel 10 television late on Monday, shows a soldier gyrating to rhythmic drumbeat of an Arabic track as the woman, who is wearing a headscarf, huddles against a wall, her hands bound in front of her and her eyes bound with a white cloth.

The soldier, who is wearing sunglasses and smiling broadly, repeatedly brushes up close to the woman who has a Hebrew speech bubble coming out of her mouth reading "Allahu Akbar" - Arabic for "God is greatest".

Crudely captioned "Israeli soldier catch Arab terrorist (he dance on her) funny", the clip lasts just over a minute.

The video was immediately condemned by the Palestinian Authority (PA) as "deeply offensive to the dignity of women".

"This is a disgusting illustration of the sick mentality of the occupier. This is not an isolated incident," a statement from the office of Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, said.

Israeli response

In its response, the Israeli military condemned the clip and said the military police had opened an investigation into what it described as an "isolated" incident.

"The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) denounces actions such as those depicted in the videos," it said referring to an unspecified number of video clips.

"The videos are isolated cases that do not represent the IDF as a whole."

The statement said that from now on, a military police investigation would become "standard practice in cases in which similar behaviour is alleged".

Exposure of the video came just seven weeks after an Israeli soldier sparked widespread outrage by posting pictures of herself smiling and larking around next to blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian prisoners.

The army denounced the pictures as "shameful" while the PA described them as humiliating, but the former soldier, Eden Abergil, claimed she could not understand why the images had caused such offence.

Objects not humans?

Rights groups said at the time that photographs were clear evidence of a culture within the military that treated Palestinians as objects rather than human beings - a sentiment which was echoed by Fayyad's office on Tuesday.

“With the advent of easy-to-use media like YouTube, the truth is coming to light about a culture of humiliation of the Palestinians," it said.

"The soldiers are fed by a wider Israeli policy that behaves (as if it were) above the law and human rights values."

Israeli blogger Dimi Reider, who first exposed the Eden Abergil photographs in August, said the video flew in the face of Israel's claims to have one of the most moral armies in the world.

"This video finally debunks one of the most persistent Israeli myths - that ours is the only occupying army in history that does not sexually abuse the women of the occupied nation," he wrote in his blog, Dimi's Notes.

"Second, it is about as stark proof as it gets that the IDF cannot and should not monitor itself (if it could, the soldiers would be in prison, de-ranked and de-mobbed before the video even hit the web)."

Source:

On the boat to Gaza - Glyn Secker

2010-10-03T10:58:00.000-05:00

The following is an excerpt from the written testimony of Glyn Secker, captain of the Irene, the latest boat to attempt the breaking of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The weather was still very kind to us and we made better progress than expected. Not wanting to time the encounter with the Israeli navy in the dark we slowed down and when the morning had warmed up I suggested that a good way to de-stress would be to stop the boat and for us all take a swim in the sparkling deep blue water.

We put out a long line with a fender on the end and in we all plunged – a swim to remember. Reuvan, our 82-year-old holocaust survivor, was amazing, confidently swimming away from the boat and me trying to keep him within reach of the safety line! I think I was the only one who had any breakfast – home made muesli (wonderful almond nuts).

And then finally after all these days and weeks of anticipation we identified a frigate on the horizon. It shadowed us for some considerable time, keeping on our port side about five miles off. Then we saw a number of smaller craft lined up and realized that the encounter was approaching. We rehearsed our strategies and waited, with adrenalin levels slowly rising. Shortly there came a call on Ch 16 over the VHF from the frigate asking us our intentions and the flag of the boat. I informed them that we were heading for Gaza port, that we were in international waters and had no intention of entering Israeli waters. They replied that Gaza was within a prohibited area and that we should change our course.

I responded by stating that that did not accord with international law, that we were unarmed, had no materials which could be put to military use, that we carried a consignment of aid for Gaza and that we expected safe passage. They then warned us that they would intercept us, that this could be dangerous for the crew and damaging for the boat.

I reiterated that as a British flagged boat they had no legal right to intercept us and that we intended to maintain our course to Gaza. There was no reply and we continued on our passage for perhaps another 20 minutes – presumably they were waiting for us to cross the boundary of their unilaterally declared prohibited zone.

There then developed a sight which will remain with me for the rest of my life – with the frigate in the background, two gunboats, two landing craft and four high powered ribs spread out in a semi-circle speeding towards us at perhaps 35 knots, with their bow waves and wakes flashing in the sunshine. It was surreal, it was like an action movie, and entranced by the sight I had to remind myself this was actually happening – this overwhelming force for a 9.7 meter 40-year-old boat, the majority of its Jewish occupants over 60 years old, with no weapons and a publicized policy of passive resistance.

The next we knew there were two ribs very close alongside with the commander on a megaphone again warning us of the dangers if they boarded us. I reiterated our legal rights, and for what it was worth I accelerated, just to make a point that outpacing them was fantasy. Then as planned Itamar addressed the commandos in Hebrew and English, calling on them not to obey the orders to take actions which are illegal under international law. The ribs closed in, and the boarding commenced.

All the crew and passengers (apart from myself as I was steering) held hands.They boarded us simultaneously from both sides. At that moment we cut the engines and sat over the access points to the cut offs to prevent them restarting the engines. The wheel is on the starboard side of the boat. I was surrounded by three commandos, I held on to the wheel as hard as I could. It reminded me of being on violent picket lines with the police trying to break through. One grabbed my left arm, another my right arm. The third stood by with a Tazer gun. After a struggle they managed to prize my hands from the wheel and threw me down on the floor. I managed to crawl behind them and remove the engine starter keys but one of them saw me and prized the keys from my hands.

On the opposite side of the cockpit Yonatan Shapira [a former officer in the Israeli Air Force] and his brother Itamar had been identified by the naval commander in charge. He sought to separate them from the others. Yonatan clasped Rami in a hug to prevent himself being removed. The senior officer then moved one side Yonatan’s lifejacket covering his left breast, placed a Tazer gun in contact with his clothing and fired it directly into his heart.

Yonatan let out a dreadful scream and the force of the Tazer caused him to lose control of his muscles. He was pulled off Rami and across the cockpit to the middle. He was then hit twice more by the Tazer gun, screaming out again. Both he and Itamar were forcefully pulled off our boat onto the Israeli naval rib on port side.They were driven at very high speed over the waters, which had now become moderately rough (the wind had increased to a F4) and it would have been very uncomfortable especially for Yonatan still recovering from the Tazer shocks. They were taken to the frigate where they were treated normally, then to shore and released on bail without charges.

Meanwhile I had turned off the fuel supply to the engines. After some time (the engines only burn 1 1/2 liters per hour) when the fuel in the pipes had been used up the port engine started to fail. (The starboard fuel shut-off failed to work). After many attempts to restart the engine the officers took the boat in tow. The boat is designed to go through the water at a maximum speed of about 8 knots. They towed us through the rough waters at 12 – 14 knots.

The boat was bouncing about violently, it was dangerous for the remaining passengers and crew, including Reuvan. We all sustained bruises and the passage to Ashdod was exhausting. There were something like eight commandos on the boat in addition to ourselves so it was grossly overloaded. It was surprising that the boat did not begin to break up, the whole structure was groaning and making cracking sounds. It was clear that they intended to seriously mistreat the boat. During the passage they tore down all the banners and flags – including the red ensign (the UK flag) which legally has to be displayed in all foreign waters.

As a gesture of defiance I decided to cook lunch! Not easy in the circumstance but I managed to produce omelet (with garlic) sandwiches which Reuvan, Lillian and I think Eli and I shared. Whilst in the galley I took the opportunity of chucking out of the window the carving knife, the bread knife, a chisel and two hammers from the tool box, remembering that similar items had been photographed as evidence of weapons on previous boats.

I’d like to point out that in the US it is illegal for the police or the army to fire Tazers directly into the heart as there have been a number of cases of heart failure and death as a result of such targeting.

The fact that Yonatan was released without charge makes it very clear that the use of the Tazer on him was purely malicious.

Contrary to Israeli military reports, there was therefore, considerable resistance, be it non-violent, to the army's illegal hijacking of our boat, and there was considerable, unprovoked and very dangerous violence perpetrated by Israeli forces.

Glyn Secker is a British human rights activist who participated in the Jewish Boat to Gaza in September 2010. His full testimony can be found here

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Products that support Israel and need to be boycotted.

2010-10-01T22:19:00.000-05:00

FBI targets US Palestine activists

2010-10-01T18:53:00.000-05:00

Searches, subpoenas, but no charges for anti-war activists 'providing support to terrorists' in Colombia and Palestine.

Activists say they are trying to educate the public about suffering caused by US foreign policy [GALLO/GETTY]

Tracy Molm sometimes has a hard time paying rent, so it came as a surprise when American security forces banged on her door at 7am one morning, and searched her apartment under suspicions she provided material support to a terrorist organisation.

Warrants indicate that investigators believe Molm and at least seven other activists from the Minnesota anti-war committee and other groups provided material support to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), groups the US considers terrorist organisations.

"My assumption is that material support means money and guns, but they [police] wouldn't explain anything," Molm told Al Jazeera. "I think the real thing is that they are trying to intimidate those of us who are standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Colombia."

Activists from Minneapolis and Chicago have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury investigation in October, after coordinated police raids on September 24.

No charges

Despite the searches and seizures of computers, cheque books, mobile phones, documents and photographs, Molm and other activists have not been charged with committing a crime.

"The searches were conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by a federal judge," Royden Rice, a special agent with US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Chicago, told Al Jazeera.

"No arrests have been made or charges filed in connection with this investigation," he said, leading activists to call the searches a trolling expedition targeting Americans who object to their government's foreign policy ventures.

More than 200 people demonstrated in Minnepolis on Monday, denouncing the raid, according to the Minnesota Daily, while at least 100 rallied in Chicago on Tuesday to support the anti-war activists. More demonstrations are planned in other American cities and activists expect the numbers to increase drastically, as they only had three days to plan the first round of protests.

"The FBI does not investigate any person or group because of their political views," said agent Rice. "We investigate allegations that federal criminal law has been violated."

'Suppressing political activity'

Bernardine Dohrn, a law professor at Northwestern University in Chicago, thinks the police are trying to do one of two things. "Either it is a fishing expedition, as there is not enough evidence to indict [formally charge] anyone; or it is an attempt to suppress political activity. Neither are good news," she said.

As a legal scholar, Dohrn worries about the vague nature of national security laws instituted after the September 11, 2001 attacks on US targets.

"If you write articles, is that material support [for terrorists]? If you contribute resources for computers or healthcare clinics in occupied territories, or territories resisting government control, is that material support?"

She says grand jury investigations, the legal manoeuvre activists are facing, represent a way to "circumvent other constitutional protections."

People who appear before a grand jury "cannot bring in a lawyer. It is the prosecutor, you [the person being investigated] and a group of grand jurors … in short it is a coercive method to get information."

Jessica Sundin, a clerical worker at the University of Minnesota, also had her belongings taken by security forces in the coordinated searches and seizures. Like Molm, she denies providing material support to any group and says she has done nothing illegal or unethical.

She believes that the "biggest task of our anti-war movement [in the US] is to educate our own people."

Visit to an occupied country

In that spirit, Molm and other American activists travelled to Palestine in 2004 to see the conditions there for themselves. "Every day people [in occupied lands] go through checkpoints with guns pointed at their heads and they have this horrendous situation, but they continue to live and laugh," she said.

"The occupation of Palestine is as brutal as it is because US tax dollars, my tax dollars, support that. Sending people there to bring back [personal] accounts and pictures is important to building solidarity."

Israel, the power responsible for occupying Palestinian land, received $2.55bn in American military aid in 2009, according to the US State Department. That number is expected to increase to $3.15bn per year from 2013 to 2018.

"I don't know why it would be a crime to have a scarf with the Palestinian flag on it, but they [police] took that," she said.

As for Colombia, the country has received at least $5bn in US military aid since 1999.

Amnesty International USA, a human rights group, said it "has been calling for a complete cut off of US military aid to Colombia for over a decade due to the continued collaboration between the Colombian Armed Forces and their paramilitary allies."

Justifying terror cash

Rather than a vast attempt by security forces to intimidate critics of US foreign policy, the searches may have a simpler motive: an excuse for police to justify the massive infusions of federal cash they received under the pretext of 'fighting terrorism.'

"In Minnesota [the state containing Minneapolis where most searches took place] a lot of money was put into anti-terrorism efforts," says Sheila Regan, a reporter with the TC Daily Planet who has been covering issue for a local audience.

"It has one of the biggest terrorism bureaucracies anywhere; they [security forces] need something to do to justify their salaries," she told Al Jazeera.

Like other subpoenaed activists, Molm works for a group called Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), which had been critical in organising major demonstrations against the US war in Vietnam back in the 1960s and 70s.

Dohrn was a national leader of the group from 1966-70 and has direct experience with the grand jury subpoenas which a new generation of activists is now facing.

"When I was called before a grand jury and refused to collaborate … I went to jail and was released eight months later by the same judge, who said 'apparently there is no evidence against you.' It is a strange way to have to prove your innocence."

Back in the anti-war movement of the 1960s, a few US activists did travel to Vietnam to see the affects of B52 bombers, toxic Agent Orange and support for the western-backed government in South Vietnam.

Jane Fonda, the former activist and work-out video queen, famously stood next to an anti-aircraft gun with North Vietnamese communists, and decried the US for what she called its "illegal" bombing campaign against the country.

New activist tools

But today, travelling to places which face foreign military interference - Palestine or Colombia, Iraq or Afghanistan, Somalia or Yemen - is far easier, due in part, to technological innovations and the cheap prices for transportation fostered by global capitalism.

Travel makes human connections easier. And activists in the US say they are struggling to educate average people about injustices committed, in their name, in places far from Minnepolis or Chicago.

When Molm went to Palestine in 2004, she says the American media were not at all interested in the public talks she gave or the "injustices" she witnessed. “Now I have major media stations asking what I saw there. Now I can talk about home demolitions and [Israel’s separation] wall.”

On this front, she says, the grand jury subpoena may prove helpful in the battle for the hearts and minds of average Americans.

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Four illegal outposts to be built in Hebron

2010-10-01T02:28:00.002-05:00

HEBRON (Ma'an) -- The infrastructure for four illegal outposts is being constructed around the West Bank city of Hebron, a settlement affairs expert said Thursday.

In an interview with Ma'an Radio, Abed Al-Hadi Hantash said the outposts would be integrated to form a new settlement, which would be linked with Kiryat Arba, the largest settlement in the district.

Combined, the settlements would constitute a third of the city of Hebron, which is already surrounded by illegal settlements, Hantash said. The new project would confiscate a further 15 square kilometers of Palestinian land from Hebron's borders, he said, and is being funded by a Jewish society which supports settlement activity in the West Bank city.

The construction of a new school and kindergarten began earlier this week in illegal outposts in Hebron. Further, a road leading from Kiryat Arba to the Ibrahimi Mosque, which would cut through Jaber neighborhood in the Old City, was also approved. The road's construction would put Palestinians at risk of eviction, Hantash said.

Hantash said he was astonished at the Palestinian handling of the settlement issue, which focused on individual violations and failed to pay attention to the slow and systematic process by which settlements are taking over control of the heart of Hebron.

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'Israel flotilla raid could go to int’l court'

2010-09-29T12:42:00.000-05:00

GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel's raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza could end up as a case before the International Criminal Court (ICC), a lawyer who investigated the May raid for the United Nations Human Rights Council said on Tuesday.

The mission investigating the raid was not asked to make any recommendations and did not do so. But the suggestion that the case could end up at the ICC - to which Israel is not a signatory - maintains pressure on Israel over the incident.

Pakistan, on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), proposed a resolution on Monday at the council calling on the UN General Assembly to consider the report of the three-member fact-finding mission.

The council will vote on the resolution on Friday and it is likely to pass because the OIC and its allies have a majority in the 47-member body.

The mission, with which Israel refused to cooperate, found that the commando raid, in which nine pro-Palestinian activists - eight Turks and a Turkish-American - were killed was unlawful and violated human rights and international law.

Israel, which has blockaded Hamas-ruled Gaza since 2007, dismissed the UN investigators' work in advance as unnecessary and irrelevant, and has said the human rights council is hopelessly biased against Israel anyway.

The Mavi Marmara, the ship on which the nine were killed, was flying the flag of the Comoros Islands, which is a party to the Rome Statute setting up the ICC, said Sir Desmond de Silva, a prominent British lawyer on the mission.

As a result the case could theoretically end up before the ICC, he said. "It is in the hands of others to take forward or not as the case may be," de Silva told a news conference.

Like other members of the mission, de Silva rejected US and Israeli statements that its work had been biased.

"We've done, I think, an honest job in a reasonable time and so far as my conscience is concerned we've arrived at decisions that were spot on," he said.

"We went where the evidence led us."

The chairman of the mission, Trinidadian Judge Karl Hudson-Phillips, said that under the principle of "complementarity", a country had the right to conduct its own investigation into serious allegations before they went to the ICC, provided it was a genuine investigation and not a sham.

"Whether or not the principle of complementarity can be said to apply to the steps that the government of Israel has taken is doubtful in my view," he said.

Hudson-Phillips said he was unaware of any criticism of fact in his report made by Israeli authorities except for differences between the mission's assessment and an Israeli investigation of accounts of the treatment of three Israeli commandoes who boarded the Mavi Marmara and were briefly taken prisoner.

Source:

Israel paves the way for killing by remote control

2010-09-29T07:40:00.000-05:00

Spot and Shoot, as it is called by the Israeli military, may look like a video game but the figures on the screen are real people – Palestinians in Gaza – who can be killed with the press of a button on the joystick. The Spot and Shoot system – officially known as Sentry Tech – has mostly attracted attention because it is operated by 19- and 20-year-old female soldiers, making it the Israeli army’s only weapons system operated exclusively by women. The female soldiers, located far away in an operations room, are responsible for aiming and firing remote-controlled machine-guns mounted on watch-towers every few hundred meters along an electronic fence that surrounds Gaza. The women are supposed to identify anyone suspicious approaching the fence around Gaza and, if authorized by an officer, execute them using their joysticks. The system was phased-in two years ago for surveillance, but operators were only able to open fire with it more recently. The army admitted using Sentry Tech in December 2009 to kill at least two Palestinians several hundred meters inside the fence.

The system is one of the latest “remote killing” devices developed by Israel’s Rafael armaments company, the former weapons research division of the Israeli army and now a separate governmental firm. According to Giora Katz, Rafael’s vice president, remote-controlled military hardware such as Spot and Shoot is the face of the future. He expects that within a decade at least a third of the machines used by the Israeli army to control land, air and sea will be unmanned.

Rapid progress with the technology has raised alarm at the United Nations. Philip Alston, its special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, warned last month of the danger that a “PlayStation mentality to killing” could quickly emerge.

According to analysts, however, Israel is unlikely to turn its back on hardware that it has been at the forefront of developing – using the occupied Palestinian territories, and especially Gaza, as testing laboratories. Remotely controlled weapons systems are in high demand from repressive regimes and the burgeoning homeland security industries around the globe. “These systems are still in the early stages of development but there is a large and growing market for them,” said Shlomo Brom, a retired general and defence analyst at the Institute of National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.

Rafael is reported to be developing a version of Sentry Tech that will fire long-range guided missiles. Another piece of hardware recently developed for the Israeli army is the Guardium, an armored robot-car that can patrol territory at up to 80km per hour, navigate through cities, launch “ambushes” and shoot at targets. It now patrols the Israeli borders with Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel is most known for its role in developing “unmanned aerial vehicles” – or drones, as they have come to be known. Originally intended for spying, and first used by Israel over south Lebanon in the early 1980s, today they are increasingly being used for extrajudicial executions from thousands of feet in the sky.

Author: Jonathan Cook

Source:

Israel commandos 'peacefully' board Jewish Gaza-bound aid boat

2010-09-28T04:52:00.002-05:00

Israeli naval commandos have peacefully boarded a Jewish aid boat attempting to break a naval blockade on Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said at 11:30 A.M. Tuesday.

Shortly before, an Israeli warship had hailed the catamaran carrying Jewish activists toward the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to the group's website.

Full Story:

UN Fact-Finding Mission Says Israelis "Executed" US Citizen Furkan Dogan

2010-09-27T21:56:00.004-05:00

Furkan Dogan, a 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was aboard the Mavi Marmara when he was killed by Israeli commandos. (Photo: freegazaorg; Edited: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t)

The report of the fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla released last week shows conclusively, for the first time, that US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.

The report reveals that Dogan, the 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was filming with a small video camera on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara when he was shot twice in the head, once in the back and in the left leg and foot and that he was shot in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground.

The report says Dogan had apparently been "lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious, state for some time" before being shot in his face.

The forensic evidence that establishes that fact is "tattooing around the wound in his face," indicating that the shot was "delivered at point blank range." The report describes the forensic evidence as showing that "the trajectory of the wound, from bottom to top, together with a vital abrasion to the left shoulder that could be consistent with the bullet exit point, is compatible with the shot being received while he was lying on the ground on his back."

Based on both "forensic and firearm evidence," the fact-finding panel concluded that Dogan's killing and that of five Turkish citizens by the Israeli troops on the Mavi Marmari May 31 "can be characterized as extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions." (See Report [.pdf] Page 38, Section 170)

The report confirmed what the Obama administration already knew from the autopsy report on Dogan, but the administration has remained silent about the killing of Dogan, which could be an extremely difficult political problem for the administration in its relations with Israel.

The Turkish government gave the autopsy report on Dogan to the US Embassy in July and it was then passed on to the Department of Justice, according to a US government source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the administration's policy of silence on the matter. The source said the purpose of obtaining the report was to determine whether an investigation of the killing by the Justice Department (DOJ) was appropriate.

Asked by this writer whether the DOJ had received the autopsy report on Dogan, DOJ spokesperson Laura Sweeney refused to comment.

The administration has not volunteered any comment on the fact-finding mission report and was not asked to do so by any news organization. In response to a query from Truthout, a State Department official, who could not speak on the record, read a statement that did not explicitly acknowledge the report's conclusion about the Israeli executions.

The statement said the fact-finding mission's report's "tone and conclusions are unbalanced." It went on to state, "We urge that this report not be used for actions that could disrupt direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine that are now underway or actions that would make it not possible for Israel and Turkey to move beyond the recent strains in their traditional strong relationship."

Although the report's revelations and conclusions about the killing of Dogan and the five other victims were widely reported in the Turkish media last week, not a single story on the report has appeared in US news media.

The administration has made it clear through its inaction and its explicit public posture that it has no intention of pressing the issue of the murder of a US citizen in cold blood by Israeli commandos.

On June 13, two weeks after the Mavi Marmara attack, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement saying that Israel "should be allowed to undertake an investigation into events that involve its national security" and that Israel's military justice system "meets international standards and is capable of conducting a serious and credible investigation."

Another passenger whom forensic evidence shows was killed execution-style, according to the OHCHR report, is Ibrahim Bilgen, a 60-year-old Turkish citizen. Bilgen is believed by forensics experts to have been shot initially from the helicopter above the Mavi Marmara and then shot in the side of the head while lying seriously wounded.

The fact-finding mission was given forensic evidence that, after the initial shot in chest from above, Bilgen was shot in the head with a "soft baton round at such close proximity that an entire bean bag and its wadding penetrated the skull and lodged in the chest from above," the mission concluded.

"Soft baton rounds" are supposed to be fired for nonlethal purposes at a distance and aimed only at the stomach, but are lethal when fired at the head, especially from close range.

The forensic evidence cited by the fact-finding mission on the killing of Dogan and five other passengers came from both the autopsy reports and pathology reports done by forensic personnel in Turkey and from interviews with those who wrote the reports. Experts in forensic pathology and firearms assisted the mission in interpreting that forensic evidence.

The account, provided by the OHCHR of the events on board the Mavi Marmara on its way to help break the economic siege of Gaza May 31 of this year, refutes the version of events aggressively pushed by the Israeli military and supports the testimony of passengers on board.

The report suggests that, from the beginning, Israeli policy viewed the Gaza flotilla as an opportunity to use lethal force against pro-Hamas activists. It quotes testimony by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak before the Israeli government's Turkel Committee that specific orders were given by the Israeli government "to continue intelligence tracking of the flotilla organizers with an emphasis on the possibility that amongst the passengers in the flotilla there were terror elements who would attempt to harm Israeli forces."

The idea that the passenger list would be seeded with terrorists determined to attack Israeli defense forces appears to have been a ploy to justify treating the operation as likely to require the use of military force against the passengers.

When details of the Israeli plan to forcibly take over the ships in the flotilla were published in the Israeli press on May 30, the passengers on board the Mavi Marmara realized that the Israelis might use deadly force against them. Some leaders of the IHH (the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid), which had purchased the ships for the mission, were advocating defending the boat against the Israeli boarding attempt, whereas other passengers advocated nonviolence only.

That led to efforts to create improvised weapons from railings and other equipment on the Mavi Marmara. However, the commission concluded that there was no evidence of any firearms having being taken aboard the ship, as charged by Israel.

The report notes that the Israeli military never communicated a request by radio to inspect the cargo on board any of the ships, apparently contradicting the official justification given by the Israeli government for the military attack on the Mavi Marmara and other ships of preventing any military contraband from reaching Gaza.

According to the OHCHR report, Israeli Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi testified to the Turkel Committee August 11 that the initial rules of engagement for the operation prohibited live fire except in life-threatening situations, but that that they were later modified to target protesters "deemed to be violent" in response to the resistance by passengers.

That decision apparently followed the passengers' successful repulsion of an Israeli effort to board the ship from Zodiac boats.

The report confirms that, from the beginning of the operation, passengers were fired on by helicopters flying above the Mavi Marmara to drop commandos on the deck.

Contrary to Israeli claims that one or more Israeli troops were wounded by firearms, the report says no medical evidence of a gunshot wound to an Israeli soldier was found.

The OHCHR report confirms accounts from passengers on the Mavi Marmara that defenders subdued roughly ten Israeli commandos, took their weapons from them and threw them in the sea, except for one weapon hidden as evidence. The Israeli soldiers were briefly sequestered below and some were treated for wounds before being released by the defenders.

The OHCHR fact-finding mission will certainly be the most objective, thorough and in-depth inquiry into the events on board the Mavi Marmara and other ships in the flotilla of the four that have been announced.

The fact-finding mission was chaired by Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips, Q.C., retired judge of the International Criminal Court and former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago, and included Sir Desmond de Silva, Q.C. of the United Kingdom, former chief prosecutor of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone and Ms. Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia, founding member of the board of directors of the International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific.

The mission interviewed 112 eyewitnesses to the Israeli attack in London, Geneva, Istanbul and Amman, Jordan. The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the fact-finding mission by making personnel involved in both planning and carrying out the attack available to be interviewed.

The Turkish governments announced its own investigation of the Israeli attack on August 10. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the formation of a "Panel of Inquiry" on August 2, but its mandate was much more narrowly defined. It was given the mission to "receive and review the reports of the national investigations with the view to recommending ways of avoiding similar incidents in the future."

Source:

Jewish aid ship nears Gaza

2010-09-27T21:24:00.000-05:00

Ship with 8 Jewish activists sails for Gaza, in another bid to send humanitarian supplies and break the crippling siege.

An aid ship carrying 8 Jewish activists from Europe, Israel, and the US is less than 24 hours from reaching Gazan coastal waters.

Having left the port of Famagusta in Turkish-held northern Cyprus Sunday afternoon, the Irene is set to test the Israeli blockade sometime early Tuesday.

Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, has repeatedly warned that Israel will intercept any ship nearing Gaza, which is run by the Palestinian movement Hamas.

"In the tradition of the civil rights movement...we assert our right to continue to Gaza under international law," Glyn Secker, the ship's captain, told Al Jazeera.

The 10-meter catamaran is tiny in comparison with the six-ship May 31 aid convoy that contained 10,000 tons of aid and over 700 activists.

But the voyage is a gesture by left-leaning European Jewish groups to highlight what it sees as a flawed Israeli policy of collective punishment against 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Yousef Rizka, a Hamas official, said: "The government has received Jewish activists arriving to Gaza before. The government positively views all attempts to break the siege on Gaza".

Israel eased its naval blockade following harsh international condemnation for storming the Mavi Marmara. The nine deaths aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were a public relations disaster for Israel.

Since then, groups from Iran, Ireland, Lebanon, and Libya, among others, have been trying to reach Gaza -- with varying degrees of success.

Groups represented on board the Irene include the UK-based Jews for Justice for Palestinians and the German Jewish Voice organization.

"The boat's cargo includes symbolic aid in the form of children's toys and musical instruments, textbooks, fishing nets for Gaza's fishing communities and prosthetic limbs," read a statement from European Jews for a Just Peace movement, the activist network that coordinated the voyage.

"We stand in the proud Jewish tradition of justice, of championing the rights of the downtrodden, of implacable opposition to prejudice and racism," continued the statement.

Kate Katzenstein-Leiterer, a leader of the German Jewish Voice, was quoted in June as saying, "We want Israel to behave in a way that it can be recognized as a democratic state. Now it is recognized as a criminal state. That is not what we want."

Reuven Moskovitz, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor among the passengers on the British-flagged vessel, is a founding member of the Jewish-Arab village Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace).

“We are two peoples, but we have one future”, said Moskovitz in a statement on the Jewish Boat to Gaza website.

Another passenger is Rami Elhanan, an Israeli whose daughter died in a 1997 suicide bombing at a Jerusalem shopping centre.

Yonatan Shapira, a former Israeli military pilot and Irene crew member, represents Combatants for Peace. Eli Osherov, a reporter from Channel 10 in Israel, is also on board.

Adam Keller, spokesman for Gush Shalom, another Israeli peace group, said he expected the incident to end "less tragically than the previous one," adding that the Israeli Navy would probably divert the boat peacefully to the port of Ashdod in daylight on Tuesday.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Andy David described the voyage as "a provocative joke that isn't funny".

Secker, the ship's captain, told Al Jazeera that the organisers have "a particular point to make, as the voice of Jews who have an alternative opinion to that of the Israeli establishment".

Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies

My son's Story

2010-09-25T11:16:00.001-05:00

It has been over a year since my son has been put in jail for an innocent trip he took overseas with his friend over 3 years ago!

My son and his friend have been friends since childhood and being close and adventurous wanted to go overseas to learn Arabic and see family members and for my son also to look for a bride

Ziyad Yaghi a teen ager no more than 19 was trying to do it the right way, but the FBI decided to use this for their own gain and indicted my son and his friend with charges after almost 3 years from coming back from overseas!

The charges are; that they went overseas to kill people!

Ziyad now has been in jail for over a year! His young life ahead of him threatened with life imprisonment if found guilty! Ziyad was trying to go to College just before they arrested him!

Ziyad Yaghi is a young man who would get mad if I did not feed homeless people and shelter them! A young man with such a sweet heart, who would not let me kill ants that have crept on to my kitchen sink!

I have written to President Obama pleading with him to end this injustice but he did not respond! I also wrote to the ACLU, ADC, MFLA and much more, with no sympathy at all!

What can I do? How can this racial profiling end? How can this targeting against Muslim people be stopped??

This is our country, yet we are being oppressed in our own country simply because we are Muslims!

On July 27^th of 2009, I came home after helping an older lady run her errands and found that my son’s cell phone was on the computer desk. I got kind of worried and then tried to reassure myself that he just forgot his cell phone

Few minutes later the same lady I was helping called and told me that my son and his friend have been arrested!

I thought that she was just hallucinating due to her age but then she said call Omar’s dad (Omar is my son’s friend who has also been arrested)! I called Omar’s dad and he was crying and affirmed the information!

I screamed and ran upstairs and downstairs crying and yelling, “Why God oh why until there was no strength left in me”!

Ziyad called the same day saying that he does not even know why he is in jail and was talking in such a faint voice

Oh my God! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS MY COUNTY AND IS DOING THIS TO US!

The next day, I was visited by two FBI guys questioning me about a certain individual of their interest whom they also arrested. I told them that I don’t know anything about what they are inquiring and they told me that they “feel” that my son knows something and that they want to pressure him enough so he can tell the “truth”

Neither Ziyad nor I know tell this day what the FBI are looking for!!! All what we know is that they have took an innocent person and put him in jail because of their assumptions

A young man’s life has been interrupted and mistreated because of an assumption! My life has been interrupted and filled with depression and tears. I cannot even hold a professional job neither a full time job because of what is happening to us!

If there is anything any one can do to help us, please do. Being silent will just make things worse and hurt more innocent lives

Please join me on FB under Laila Yaghi and sign the petitions and NEVER FORGET all these innocent people who are in jail and all these mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters who are crying because of this malicious injustice and tyranny that has happened to them

DO SOMETHING NOW! SILENCE IS ACCEPTANCE

Foe my son

2010-09-24T16:17:00.002-05:00

Court

As I sit in court

I watch the decomposing hearts and faces of people

Robot like

Fed information of lies

Hate in their eyes

Anger lashed out in some direction

Called the Islamic new wave of hate

Innocent lives are shattered

Moms clinging to their seats

Mouths dry

While they watch the reflection of the decomposing faces

While the lawyers try faintly to defend their clients

Mothers cry

Sisters watch wide eyed

While the stage is being played

Every one there knows it is a game

But every one there must join the game

For gain…

©Laila Yaghi©

Please join me on FB under Laila Yaghi and under Please Support Ziyad Yaghi to read about what happened to my son

Turkey: We expect formal apology, compensation from Israel over Gaza flotilla

2010-09-23T15:13:00.000-05:00

Turkish president addressed UN general assembly and praised UN report on Gaza flotilla raid, which says Israeli forces violated international law.

By Shlomo Shamir and News Agencies

Turkey is still waiting for an apology from Israel over the Gaza flotilla raid, Turkish president Abdullah Gul told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

The UN Human Rights Commission released a report on the incident on Wednesday. The report, compiled by three United Nations appointed human rights experts, said that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, killing nine activists, earlier this year.

Gul said that he still expects Israel to pay monetary compensation to the families of those killed in the raid, which he said was a scathing infraction of international law.

"In the light of international law, Turkey's expectation is a formal apology and compensation for the aggrieved families of the victims and the injured people," Gul said.

The UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission concluded that Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and described the military raid on the flotilla as brutal and disproportionate.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded to the report late Wednesday by saying the Human Rights Council had a biased, politicized and extremist approach. They have since said that will "study" the report.

Gul lauded United States President Barack Obama's efforts to encourage the Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct peace talks.

However, he cautioned: "It would be very difficult to make progress towards permanent peace unless we put an end to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza."

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu praised Gaza flotilla report, telling Anatolia news agency that it report was fair, impartial and used strong evidence.

"We expected the council to release a strong report based on strong evidence, and in this sense the report met our expectations," said Davutoglu. "We hope that Israel will learn to use language of international law and act in line with it."

The Human Rights Council's report was compiled by former UN war crimes prosecutor Desmond de Silva, Trinidadian judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips and Malaysian women's rights advocate Mary Shanthi Dairiam.

The Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, was re-established in 2006 by then UN Security General, Kofi Annan, following accusations that its predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights, openly and systematically discriminated against Israel.

But the new body has also passed several resolutions condemning Israel over the past few years, especially for its actions in the Palestinian territories, and is often of accused of unfair bias against Israel.

Source:

UNHRC report on the Gaza flotilla attack. (full)

2010-09-23T03:10:00.003-05:00

Please find the attached link of the full UNHuman Rights Council:
Report of the international fact-finding missionto investigate violations of international law, including internationalhumanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance...
265. The Mission considers that several violationsand offenses have been committed. It is not satisfied that, in the timeavailable, it can say that it has been able to compile a comprehensivelist of all offenses. However, there is clear evidence to supportprosecutions of the following crimes within the terms of article 147 ofthe Fourth Geneva Convention.
:• willful killing;
• torture or inhuman treatment;
• willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health.
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/15session/A.HRC.15.21_en.pdf

Bill Clinton's 'Russian immigrants are obstacle to peace' comment draws fire in Israel

2010-09-22T18:01:00.000-05:00

Former U.S. President tells press that Russian immigrants and settlers are those least interested in peace in Israel.

By Jonathan Lis and Natasha Mozgovaya

Former United States president Bill Clinton came under fire from Russian-born Israeli politicians on Wednesday, a day after he told the media that the Russian immigrant population in Israel is an obstacle to peace with Palestinians.

"An increasing number of the young people in the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are the children of Russians and settlers, the hardest-core people against a division of the land. This presents a staggering problem," Clinton told a roundtable with press in New York. "It's a different Israel. Sixteen percent of Israelis speak Russian."

Foreign Policy magazine quoted Clinton as saying that Russian immigrants are the Israelis least interested in a peace deal with Palestinians. "They've just got there, it's their country, they've made a commitment to the future there," Clinton said. "They can't imagine any historical or other claims that would justify dividing it."

The magazine said that Clinton also mentioned a conversation with former Soviet dissident turned Knesset member Natan Sharansky, who, according to Clinton, was the only Israeli minister to reject the comprehensive peace agreement the former president proposed at the Camp David Summit in 2000.

"I said, ‘Natan, what is the deal [about not supporting the peace deal],'" Clinton was quoted as saying. "He said, ‘I can't vote for this, I'm Russian... I come from one of the biggest countries in the world to one of the smallest. You want me to cut it in half. No, thank you.'"

Clinton reportedly replied, "Don't give me this you came here from a jail cell. It's a lot bigger than your jail cell."

But Sharansky denied Wednesday that such a conversation with Clinton ever took place. “A report of President Clinton's comments has been brought to my attention which I hope is inaccurate. I appreciate President Clinton's commitment to peace and talent for political analysis" he said.

“However, as to the basic facts, I was never at Camp David and never had the opportunity to discuss the negotiations there with President Clinton. It may be that he had in mind our conversations at Wye Plantation years before, where I expressed my serious doubts, given the dictatorial nature of the PA regime, whether Mr. Arafat would be willing to bring freedom to his people, an essential element of a sustainable peace," said Sharansky.

"History has shown that these concerns were justified. If the reports of President Clinton's comments are accurate, I am particularly disappointed by the president's casual use of inappropriate stereotypes about Israelis, dividing their views on peace based on ethnic origins. I must add that these are uncharacteristic comments from a man who has always been a sensitive and thoughtful listener and conversation partner," said Saransky.

Yisrael Beitenu, the ultra-right wing party comprised mainly of Russian migrants, condemned Clinton's statement Wednesday.

The party released a statement criticizing Clinton for meddling in Israel's internal affairs and for his "crude generalizations".

"The people of Israel are one, and the Russian immigrants, as the other citizens of Israel, yearn for true peace based on recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people," said the statement.

"It seems that Clinton has forgotten that it was the [former] chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat who refused to Clinton's peace offer, which included unbearable concessions on the part of Israel," said the statement.

Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver from Yisrael Beiteinu, said Wednesday in response to Clinton's comments that any external attempt to create division within Israeli society is wrong.

"The Russian immigration contributed to the development of Israel in every field, including science, culture, sports, economy and defense. This year, the entire country is celebrating the Twentieth anniversary of this immigration… reflecting the fact that the Israeli people are united," said Landver.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he regretted Clinton's remarks.

"As an old friend of Israel, Clinton surely knows that the immigrants [from the former Soviet Union] have made a huge contribution to the strengthening and development of Israel and the IDF," said Netanyahu.

Source:

Arab-backed anti-Israel resolution at IAEA could pass

2010-09-21T23:34:00.000-05:00

Eleventh-hour bid to block measure focuses on non-aligned countries.

By Yossi Melman

Israel is making an eleventh-hour effort to block a resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Assembly calling on the country to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and open the Dimona nuclear complex to inspection.

The resolution is being proposed by Egypt and the Arab states with a vote expected tomorrow or Friday.

How the vote will go is unclear. Israel is focusing its efforts are persuading countries in the nonaligned bloc not to back the Arab initiative.

Last year, the agency's General Assembly passed a similar resolution by a four-vote margin. Egypt now apparently feels more confident it will rally more support as the gathering comes months after a preparatory meeting in New York on the NPT, and the United States has also called for a nuclear-free Middle East.

The 2009 resolution called on IAEA chief Yukiya Amano to prepare a report on how best to implement it. His report earlier this month said he had invited Israel to consider joining the NPT. Arab countries called Amano's report "weak and disappointing," adding that "the report neither contained an assessment [of] the Israeli nuclear capabilities, nor did the Agency try to obtain any information about these capabilities, especially concerning a military dimension...." Israel has been promised the support of the U.S., the European Union and other Western countries and also South American states.

Dr. Shaul Horev, head of Israel's Atomic Energy Committee and who is heading the Israeli delegation at the assembly, addressed the body and noted that the IAEA is targeting Israel and raises an anti-Israeli agenda "whose purpose is to avoid serious discussion on violations of the NPT by countries in the Middle East." He noted that four countries in the Middle East have already violated their commitment to the NPT - a reference to Iran, Syria, Iraq and Libya.

Horev said Israel is "concerned by the developments," and that the threat of proliferation of nuclear weapons does not stem from countries who are not party to the treaty, like Israel, India and Pakistan, but from countries who are signatories of the treaty and who violate it.

He expressed sorrow that Egypt has adopted the stance that it has and recalled that Cairo has not ratified the treaty, which would transform Africa into a nuclear-free continent.

Source:

Court Says Criminal Probe Into Fatal Shooting Of Two Palestinians “Unnecessary”

2010-09-16T01:13:00.000-05:00

by Saed Bannoura

The Israeli High Court Of Justice had decided that a petition demanding a full investigation into the fatal shooting of two Palestinians in Awarta village near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, is “unnecessary” as the Israeli army had already ordered an investigation.

Last month, representing the families of the victims, Israeli attorney, Michael Sfrad, of the Israeli Human Rights group Yesh Din filed a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice and demanded the court to open a criminal investigation into the shooting.

On Wednesday, the state told the High Court that Chief Military Prosecutor, Avihai Mandelblit had already ordered a military investigation that would start by the beginning of October.

The two farmers were identified as Mohammad Faisal Qawareeq, 19, and Salah Mohammad Kamel Qawareeq, 19.

The deadly shooting of the two Palestinians took place this past March when Israeli soldiers stopped two farmers who were walking near Itamar settlement.

The army claimed that soldiers asked the two farmers to present their identity cards but they said that they were not carrying them; the two farmers said they were on their way to their farmlands.

The soldiers claimed that the two farmers acted in a suspicious way and that they and that their responses were not clear.

The commander of the unit said that he shot the two to death when one of them attempted to attack one of the soldiers with a pitchfork.

The commander was removed from his position and, reportedly, will not be allowed to serve as a military commander in the future.

Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, stated that the incident could have had a different outcome, and that the deadly results could have be avoided.

Local farmers reported that the soldiers separated the two farmers from each other, and forced them on the ground without cuffing them.

The farmers added that the two were not carrying anything when they were forced to sit on the ground, and that they were both shot while sitting and not while standing, an issue that negates the army claims that the two attempted to attack the soldiers.

Source:

ABQ Says "Sanction Israel"

2010-09-10T22:16:00.003-05:00

ISRAEL AND AIPAC CAN KISS MY YOU KNOW WHAT. I AM PROUD OF THE PEOPLE DOING THIS. MAY GOD (ALLAH) BLESS THEM.

A half dozen members of the Albuquerque-based grassroots human rights organization--the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel--explain why they are so pleased to see their billboard message up again calling for the U.S. to be a more honest broker between the Israeli government and the Palestinians.

Message from the producer
"Check out this seven minute video on youtube i shot and edited. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGMdydoOexY

A half dozen members of the ABQ based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel stand in front of their billboard (just put up in a new location at 1001 Candelaria NE, just west of I-25) and explain why they support ending military aid to Israel.

Anyone who wants to help keep this message up longer than the next month or so please send a check to:

Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
PO Box 10856
Albuquerque, NM 87184-0856

Susan Schuurman
member, Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
ABQ NM"

You can contact someone at 30 Billion to learn more about this effort, by clicking on the contact page at the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel Website.

During war there are no civilians

2010-09-10T01:50:00.000-05:00

Sitting in on the Rachel Corrie trial alarmingly reveals an open Israeli policy of indiscrimination towards civilians.

Nora Barrows-Friedman

Rachel Corrie's plight symbolised the ruthless policy of Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in the social psyche of millions of people outside of the West Bank and Gaza Strip [Getty Images]

"During war there are no civilians," that’s what “Yossi,” an Israeli military (IDF) training unit leader simply stated during a round of questioning on day two of the Rachel Corrie trials, held in Haifa’s District Court earlier this week. “When you write a [protocol] manual, that manual is for war,” he added.

For the human rights activists and friends and family of Rachel Corrie sitting in the courtroom, this open admission of an Israeli policy of indiscrimination towards civilians -- Palestinian or foreign -- created an audible gasp.

Yet, put into context, this policy comes as no surprise. The Israeli military’s track record of insouciance towards the killings of Palestinians, from the 1948 massacre of Deir Yassin in Jerusalem to the 2008-2009 attacks on Gaza that killed upwards of 1400 men, women and children, has illustrated that not only is this an entrenched operational framework but rarely has it been challenged until recently.

Rachel Corrie, the young American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death by a Caterpillar D9-R bulldozer, as she and other members of the nonviolent International Solidarity Movement attempted to protect a Palestinian home from imminent demolition on March 16, 2003 in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Corrie has since become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity as her family continues to fight for justice in her name.

Her parents, Cindy and Craig Corrie, filed a civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for Rachel’s unlawful killing -- what they allege was an intentional act -- and this round of testimonies called by the State’s defense team follows the Corries’ witness testimonies last March. The Corries’ lawsuit charges the State with recklessness and a failure to take appropriate measures to protect human life, actions that violate both Israeli and international laws.

Witnesses insisted that the bulldozer driver couldn’t see Rachel Corrie from his perch. The State attorneys called three witnesses to the stand on Sunday and Monday to prove that the killing was unintentional and took place in an area designated as a “closed military zone.” Falling under the definition of an Act of War, their argument sought to absolve the soldiers of liability under Israeli law.

The Rachel Corrie trials focus on one incident, one moment, one death, one family’s grief. However it’s important to include the context within which the Israeli military operated on that day in March of 2003 in order to properly understand the gravity of the trial and the reverberations seven and a half years later.

Yossi, the military training leader, described the area where Corrie was killed as an “active war zone.” The State’s defense argues the same. Yet what was happening in Rafah that was so important to Corrie that she confronted a 4-meter high armored bulldozer in the first place?

According to statistics from Human Rights Watch, Israel had been expanding its so-called “buffer zone” at the southern Gaza border after the breakout of the second Palestinian intifada in late 2000. “By late 2002,” reports HRW, “after the destruction of several hundred houses in Rafah, the IDF began building an eight meter high metal wall along the border.”

The area that Israel designates as its buffer zone has since enveloped nearly 35% of agricultural land, according to an August 2010 report published by the United Nation’s Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA says that this policy has affected 113,000 Palestinians inside the Gaza strip over the last ten years as their farms, homes, and villages were intentionally erased from the map.

Rachel Corrie’s nonviolent action -- standing in front of the bulldozer in direct confrontation to this project -- cost her her life.

The home Rachel Corrie died trying to protect was razed, along with hundreds of others. The Gaza Strip remains a sealed ghetto. And countless Palestinian families have not seen justice waged in their favor after the deaths of their loved ones.

In 2005, an arrest warrant was issued against Major General Doron Almog -- a senior soldier in charge of Israel’s Southern Command -- by a British court related to the destruction of 59 homes in Rafah in
2002 under his authority. He was warned before boarding a flight to the UK that he could be arrested upon arrival, and canceled his trip.

Related to the Rachel Corrie case, Maj. Almog gave a direct order to the team of internal investigators to cut the investigations short, according to Israeli army documents obtained by Israeli daily Haaretz.

This indicates that the impunity of Israeli soldiers and policy-makers can -- and will -- be challenged in a court of law. And when the trials continue next month, the Corries will be back in the courtroom in anticipation of a long-sought justice for their daughter.

Source: Al Jazeera

A Counter-Balance To The Quran Burning

2010-09-09T10:49:00.002-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Solidarity Ships To Sail To Gaza

2010-09-09T00:41:00.000-05:00

by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Deeb Hijazi, coordinator of the National Initiative Committee Against the Siege, based on Lebanon, stated that four flotillas will be sailing to Gaza on September 18.

Hijazi said that the “Artery of Life 5” will be sailing on September 18 as this date marks the 28th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatilla massacres in Lebanon in 1982.

He stated that the first flotilla will be launched from London, the second from Morocco, the third from the Arab Peninsula, and the fourth from Asia.

The ships will carry humanitarian and medical supplies, in addition to dozens of supporters from several countries, mainly from Asia.

On May 31, the Israeli Navy commandos violently boarded and attacked Mavi Marmara Turkish ship of the Freedom Flotilla that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian and medical supplies, killed nine peace activists and wounded several others, some seriously.

Israel claimed that the ships “attempted to violate the naval siege on the Hamas-led government in Gaza”, and justified its deadly attack on the ships and the activists.
Israel considers any attempt to break its illegal siege on more than 1.5 million

Palestinians in Gaza as an act that harms its security, and as an act that shows support to the Hamas movement, the ruling party in Gaza.

More than 275 patients, including infants and children, died due to the siege imposed on Gaza, while hundreds could face the same fate as Gaza hospitals and medical centers run out of basic supplies.

Although Israel claimed it would allow urgent humanitarian supplies into Gaza, the situation remains dire and far from any positive development.

Source:

The Zionist Party in the USA

2010-09-07T00:31:00.000-05:00

Leherensuge has posted a great article. One that should be read by all.

Foreign report: Israel has one of world's largest 'eavesdropping' intel bases

2010-09-04T23:18:00.000-05:00

The base, near Kibbutz Urim, is central to the activities of the main Israel Defense Forces signals intelligence unit, 8200, according to report in Le Monde Diplomatique.

By Yossi Melman

Israel has one of the largest signals intelligence (SIGINT) bases in the world in the western Negev, Le Monde Diplomatique reported. The base, near Kibbutz Urim, is central to the activities of the main Israel Defense Forces signals intelligence unit, 8200, the report says.

According to the report, the base has 30 antennas and satellite dishes of different sizes and types, capable of eavesdropping on telephone calls and accessing the e-mail of "governments, international organizations, foreign companies, political groups and individuals."

One of the base's main purposes is to listen to transmissions from ships passing in the Mediterranean, the report says. The base is also the center of intelligence activity that "taps underwater communication cables, mostly in the Mediterranean, connecting Israel with Europe."

The data collected at the Negev site is relayed for processing to a 8200 base near Herzliya, the paper says. Other reports say 8200's base is near the Mossad headquarters, which receives the intelligence along with IDF units, the paper says.

The report quotes a former soldier in 8200 who said her job was to intercept telephone calls and e-mails in English and French.

"It was very interesting work, which centered on locating and identifying the 'gems' out of routine communications," she said.

The report says that the base's antennas can be identified if you go to the right websites. The antennas there are lined up in rows, it says.

The author of the article, Nick Hager, is a New Zealand investigative reporter specializing in intelligence and technology related stories involving signals intelligence. In 1996 he wrote a book on the role of New Zealand in international intelligence gathering, and discussed cooperation between New Zealand, the U.S., Britain, Australia and Canada.

Le Monde Diplomatique repeats assessments in Israeli and foreign media about 8200's contribution to Israel's intelligence capabilities.

The unit has several bases, and is described as being the main body for signals intelligence collection in Israel, according to the report and other foreign media. Besides SIGINT, which involves communications, it also deals in ELINT, collecting signals from various electronic sources, including radar.

There are also 8200 units specializing in code breaking.

The unit's great, known successes include the interception of a telephone call between Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and King Hussein of Jordan during the first day of the Six-Day War, and the interception of the telephone call between Yasser Arafat and the terrorist group that hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship in the Mediterranean in 1985.

Hager compares the Urim base's capabilities to those of the U.S. National Security Agency, Britain's Government Communications Headquarters and a similar organization in France.

"However, there is one difference," he says at the end of the report. While those units were uncovered long ago, "the unit at Urim remained unknown until this report."

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Israel Continues to Violate Right to Education in Palestine

2010-09-03T01:18:00.000-05:00

by IMEMC Staff

A report by the al-Mezan Center for Human Rights shows that Palestinian students are routinely denied the right to education due to the Israeli occupation.

According to the report, a blanket ban has been imposed on Palestinian students from the Gaza Strip, preventing them enrolling at Palestinian universities in the West Bank to continue their education.

The Center says that this ban is not based on security needs, but is based on discrimination against a specific category of persons in this case, students.

As some major fields of study are not available in Gazan universities, thousands of Gazan students, particularly those who seek to obtain post-graduate degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary studies, radiology, medical engineering, environment protection, law and democracy, and human rights used to travel to the West Bank to study there.

However the problem is expected to become bigger as, the Israeli government has recently approved a law to deport anyone who is not permitted by the state of Israel to live in the West Bank. This law, puts tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank at risk of deportation, especially hundreds of students, originally from Gaza.

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Top Ten Reasons for Skepticism

2010-09-02T16:23:00.001-05:00

On August 20, the Obama Administration announced that it will reconvene under its auspices direct Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations beginning on September 2.

While the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation fully supports a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace and hopes that the Obama Administration is successful in these efforts, it nevertheless has profound reasons to be skeptical about the likelihood of success for the following reasons (not necessarily listed in order of importance):

1. No more photo-ops, please. There is a desperate need for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. Negotiations can be a key to that. But the last thing Palestinians and Israelis need are phony negotiations. They only breed disillusionment, resentment, and cynicism about the possibility of Israeli-Palestinian peace based on human rights and justice. So rather than enter into negotiations for the sake of negotiations, the Obama Administration should exert real political pressure on Israel by cutting off military aid to once and for all get it to commit to dismantling its regime of occupation and apartheid against Palestinians, and make clear that the framework for all negotiations will be based on international law, human rights, and UN resolutions. As long as it fails to do so, U.S. civil society must keep up the pressure through campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) to change these dynamics and by joining up with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

2. The United States is not evenhanded. For decades, the United States has arrogated the role of convening Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. To convince the world that it is suitable to play this role, the United States declares that it is evenhanded, when it in fact arms Israel to the teeth and is aware that Israel will employ these U.S. weapons to conduct its human rights abuses of and apartheid policies toward Palestinians. Under international law, an outside party that provides weapons to a party in an armed conflict violates laws of neutrality. The United States is scheduled to provide Israel with $30 billion in weapons from 2009-2018 (part and parcel of a broader strategy to further militarize the region with an additional $60 billion in weapons sales to Gulf States). The United States cannot credibly broker Israeli-Palestinian peace while bankrolling Israel’s military machine and simultaneously ignoring Israel's human rights violations.

3. Israeli colonization of Palestinian land continues. In one of its most abject policy failures, the Obama Administration has contented itself with resuming direct negotiations without securing an Israeli freeze on the colonization of Palestinian land, despite spending an initial nine months trying to do so. Israeli colonization of Palestinian land, including the expansion of settlements, the eviction of Palestinians from their homes, the building of the Apartheid Wall, continues apace. Previous failed rounds of negotiations have demonstrated that Israel utilizes negotiations as a fig leaf to actually increase its pace of colonization of Palestinian land, and there is every reason to believe that it will continue to do so. Meanwhile, Israel’s ongoing colonization of Palestinian land creates difficult-to-reverse “facts on the ground” that only make a two-state solution—purportedly the end game of the negotiations—less achievable.

4. Negotiations supersede accountability. The Obama Administration, building on decades of previous U.S. efforts to shield Israel from accountability, has worked actively to scuttle international attempts to hold Israel accountable for its previous violations of international law and human rights, and its commission of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. Both after the Goldstone Report and Israel’s attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, the United States used its leverage at the United Nations to prevent Israel from being held accountable, arguing that accountability undermines prospects for peace negotiations. On the contrary, for peace negotiations to be successful, Israel must be held accountable for its actions and shown that it will pay a price for its illegal policies. Otherwise, it has no reason to alter its behavior.

5. No terms of reference. In his August 20 press briefing, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell confirmed that the United States is not insisting on any guiding principles for the negotiations, or “terms of references” in diplomatic parlance, and that these terms will be worked out by the parties themselves. In other words, Israel will be free to marshal its overwhelming power to refuse to negotiate on the basis of human rights, international law, and UN resolutions, the only viable basis for a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. Instead, Israel—backed by the United States—will negotiate based on its own exclusive terms of reference, namely what is in Israel’s “security interests.” As in previous failed rounds of negotiations, Palestinian rights will not enter into the conversation.

6. No timeline. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton believes that negotiations “could” be concluded within a year. Of course, successful Israeli-Palestinian negotiations could be wrapped up within in a year. In contrast to “peace process industry” pundits, there is nothing intrinsically complex or complicated about resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if Israel were to negotiate in good faith by declaring an end to its policies of occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. After all, South Africa concluded negotiations to end apartheid within a few months once the decision had been made to transition to democracy. However, Israel has given no indication whatsoever that it is prepared to alter its policies toward Palestinians, setting the stage for prolonged and fruitless negotiations.

7. Can a leopard change its spots? A recently-leaked video from 2001 shows current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrogantly bragging that “I actually stopped the Oslo Accord [shorthand for the failed 1993-2000 Israeli-Palestinian “peace process’].” (The Institute for Middle East Understanding has provided a useful translation and transcript of the video here.) His current Foreign Minister, Avigdor Leiberman, lives in an illegal Israeli colony built on stolen Palestinian land and has openly declared his support for ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. With this negotiating team in place, how can Palestinians expect even a bare modicum of fairness and justice to emerge from these negotiations?

8. Increased U.S. military aid to and cooperation with Israel make it less likely to negotiate in good faith. In July, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro told the Brookings Institution that “I’m proud to say that as a result of this commitment [to Israel’s security], our security relationship with Israel is broader, deeper, and more intense than ever before.” Indeed, it is. President Obama has requested record-breaking levels of military aid to Israel, and stepped up joint U.S.-Israeli military projects, such as the missile defense system “Iron Dome.” This increased level of military aid only makes Israel more reliant on military might in its attempt to subdue Palestinians into submission, and less likely to negotiate with them fairly as equals.

9. All the parties are not at the negotiating table. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell, who previously brokered a peace agreement in Northern Ireland, when discussing its success often referred to the necessity of having all the parties to the conflict around the negotiating table. What held true though for negotiations in Northern Ireland, apparently doesn’t apply to Israel/Palestine since Hamas, which currently governs the Israeli-occupied and -besieged Gaza Strip and legitimately won the 2006 legislative elections held at the behest of the United States, was not invited to participate in the negotiations. If, by some long-shot, an agreement were to emerge from these negotiations, it is difficult to see how it would be implemented without having Hamas as part of the discussions.

10. Negotiations help Israel mitigate its growing international isolation. Last, but certainly not least, images of Israeli and Palestinian political leaders negotiating presents the world with a false sense of normalcy and allows Israel the opportunity to state that it is making a legitimate effort to achieve peace. With Israel as the party pressing for direct negotiations, it is quite transparent that its desire for these talks has more to do with easing its growing international isolation and defusing the energy from the international movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS), rather than with genuinely negotiating a just and lasting peace. This point brings the analysis full circle: advocates for changing U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality should not be lulled into complacency by the resumption of negotiations, but need to keep up the pressure with campaigns of BDS to change the dynamics that will eventually lead to the possibility of a just and lasting peace.

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'Israel uses wiretapping equipment it sold to Turkey on Turkish citizens'

2010-09-02T01:24:00.000-05:00

Turkish newspaper: IDF using equipment sold to Turkey in 2007 to listen in on Turkish citizens, including political activists, members of opposition parties and academics.

By Zvi Bar'el

A claim that Israel is using wiretapping equipment it sold Ankara to listen in on Turkish citizens is making headlines in that country.

According to the pro-government newspaper Taraf, the Turkish army's deputy chief of staff, Aslan Guner, purchased sophisticated wiretapping equipment in Israel in 2007 to aid Turkey in fighting the Kurdish PKK, which is considered a terror group by Turkey.

However, the newspaper claims the Israel Defense Forces communications branch has allegedly used the equipment to listen in on 2,000 Turkish citizens, including political activists, members of opposition parties and academics.

According to information Taraf received from a senior army officer, Turkey gave Israel technical details of the GSM, or Global System for Mobile Communications, used in Turkish cell phones, so it could conform the equipment to it. This information, according to the officer, allows Israel to listen in on the cell phone conversations of any Turkish citizen.

In response to the allegations, Guner, who at the time was also head of military intelligence, said that the equipment purchase had been authorized by the Turkish Defense Ministry and that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also signed it.

"The equipment was purchased to fight terror but if someone listened to other people it should be exposed," Guner said.

The Turkish army said in a statement that it has launched an investigation into whether the system was used illegally.

Political activists allegedly targeted by the wiretaps are planning to sue those responsible, as Turkish law prohibits the military's electronic communications command from installing wiretapping equipment. Only Turkey's national intelligence organization, the police and the gendarmerie, a branch of the military responsible for maintaining public order, may install such equipment, after receiving permission from the court and the Communications Ministry.

Though Israel supplies Turkey with aerial drones and electronics used to fight terror, Ankara has also accused Israel of being behind PKK attacks. PKK actions increased immediately after the flotilla to Gaza, and critics allege that Israel wants to use them to show that it can strike at Turkey's soft underbelly.

Report: U.S. to cancel drills

The anti-government newspaper Hurriyet reported yesterday that the United States planned to cancel its participation in military exercises with Turkey in October, ostensibly to force Turkey to invite Israel, which has taken part in the exercises since 2001.

However, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said the U.S. had already participated in two such exercises this year and traditionally did not take part in more than two per year.

The spokesman made no reference to Israel's exclusion. But last year, after Turkey excluded Israel from a joint exercise, both the United States and Italy canceled their participation.

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Bedouin families told to leave by June

2010-09-01T06:26:00.002-05:00

JERICHO (Ma’an) -- Israeli authorities issued warrants ordered Bedouin families lodging in tents and sheds on land between Jericho and Jerusalem to leave the area by June 2011.

Ahmad Ka'abna, who was issued a warrant, said around 600 households would face evacuation if the order is enforced.

Resident Fayiz Ka'abna, who supports a family of 11, asked “We have been living in the area for more than half a century when the West bank was under Jordanian rule, and we are to leave now?”

Civil Administration representatives were not immediately available by phone for comment.

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Israeli forces invade Rafah; clashes reported

2010-08-31T11:07:00.000-05:00

by Saed Bannoura

Late Sunday night, Israeli tanks, bulldozers and armored vehicles invaded the southern Gaza Strip, east of Rafah, and began bulldozing land in the An-Nahda neighborhood.

A spokesperson for the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of the Fateh party, said its fighters exchanged fire with the invading Israeli soldiers, leading the troops to retreat back to their base on the southern Gaza border.

The Israeli military did not confirm the incident, but did report that one mortar shell was fired Monday morning from the Gaza Strip into an open field in southern Israel.

Israeli invasions of Gaza are common, despite the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Rafah is a frequent target of invasions, and has seen thousands of home demolitions by Israeli forces attempting to create a 'security zone' between the city and the border.

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Despite Israeli protests, Russia won't halt arms sale to Syria

2010-08-30T01:33:00.000-05:00

Haaretz reported on Friday that PM Benjamin Netanyahu had asked Russian PM Vladimir Putin to cancel the sale of long-range surface-to-sea cruise missiles to the Syrian Army.

By Barak Ravid

Despite Israel's objections, Russia will not cancel its sale of advanced missiles to Syria, the Kremlin announced on Sunday.

Haaretz reported on Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to cancel the sale of long-range surface-to-sea cruise missiles to the Syrian Army.

Following the Haaretz report, Sergei Prikhodko, a senior adviser to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, told the state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow would fulfill all agreements it had made with foreign countries and would not halt the deal.

"Lately, some Israeli media outlets have been actively disseminating information distorting Russia's position on the implementation of its obligations to Syria, including in the sphere of military and technical cooperation," Prikhodko said. "I would like to stress that the Russian Federation honors all the agreements that were previously signed between Russia and Syria."

The agreement in question is for P-800 Yakhont missiles, a highly accurate Russian weapon with a 300-kilometer range capable of carrying a warhead of up to 200 kilograms.

Israel is concerned the projectiles could significantly improve the Syrian military's ability to target its naval ships. The Chinese-made C-802 missile Syria currently has is less accurate, has a range of just 102 kilometers and can carry a warhead of no more than 150 kilograms.

Jerusalem also fears the more advanced missiles could fall into the hands of Hezbollah, the Syrian- and Iranian-supported Lebanese militia, which would create a significant threat to naval ships in Israeli ports and the Mediterranean Sea.

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Free Gaza Mission Vows Escalation of Struggle Against Israel

2010-08-28T18:51:00.001-05:00

Ken O'Keefe

by Michael Leon

- We Americans are all Palestinians. From the two small boats that landed on August 23, 2008, we grew to six ships in the last flotilla that saw nine of our brothers murdered, and will have nine to twelve ships in the flotilla this Fall as we go back to Gaza. To borrow from Dr. King who gave a beautiful anthem for justice in Washington D.C. that lives on today, the Free Gaza movement knows that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. Let us see the day when we can say: “Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” -

The international effort to break the illegal Israeli siege of Gaza, shine light on the apartheid system in the occupied territories continues, and gain independence as free men and women will not fail.

Even in the face of mass murder, piracy and assassination, the Free Gaza mission will not back down as a new flotilla prepares for the next freedom voyage to Gaza in which human rights workers will risk their lives for freedom and justice.

Only two-years-old, the Free Gaza mission has changed the world. To the imprisoned, the oppressed, and the murdered in the occupied territories, we say: You are not forgotten. Your suffering will end.

The backlash against us in lies and smears, and the propaganda campaign by Israel has been extraordinary even by the standards of the pariah state.

But as human rights worker, Ken O’Keefe, writes in these pages:

I will not abandon my brothers and sisters who resist war and occupation. By being labeled a ‘terrorist’ myself, I join you, falsely accused and persecuted, the Arabs, the Muslims, Nelson Mandela, the African National Congress, the Founding Fathers of America, the eco-warriors, the people of conscience past and present. And so be it, I am a terrorist in the eyes of the American and Canadian Government who puts me on their so-called ‘terror watch list.’

Veterans Today calls on all American veterans, supporters and advocates to resist Israel’s clear and present danger to the national security of America and the safety of the civilized world. Israel must be stopped, it must be stopped now.

Even as the farce of next week’s direct peace talks are played out, the serious work for justice goes on.

For updates on the forthcoming human rights mission, see Veterans Today, Witness Gaza, the Free Gaza Mission, Cultures of Resistance and Al Jazeera.

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Israeli Education Ministry Approves New 'whites-only' Settlement School

2010-08-28T17:34:00.000-05:00

by IMEMC Staff

Several months ago, a religious school in the illegal Israeli settlement of Immanuel was criticized for segregating white Jewish students from non-white Jewish students in classes.

Ethiopian Jewish student - not allowed to study at new school (photo by Jewish Middlesex)

Originally, the school was fined for this policy of racial segregation, because the school was state funded. Now, the Israeli education ministry has agreed with the white parents' request to allow the school to continue with its racial discrimination under private funding.

There is no law preventing racial discrimination by private organizations, even schools, in Israel.

The Israeli court has interpreted these laws to also apply to illegal West bank settlements, like Immanuel, which are located in areas that are supposed to be under Palestinian control. The Palestinian Authority does not allow racial discrimination, but due to the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian Territories, it has no authority over the area in question.

74 white girls who have been studying in a building next to the school will now be allowed to study in whites-only classrooms that are privately funded, as their parents claim they do not want their girls to study in racially-mixed classrooms.

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