Zion's Zealots

EXCERPTED from a continuing series on Dissident Voice

by Kim Petersen and B.J. Sabri / January 9th, 2008

...Zionist Israeli racism is different from many other forms of racism. This is mainly because it has an international cover, and it enjoys impunity, and benefits from prodigious supplies of armaments and money from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, and Zionist organizations.

.....Yet, while both American and Israeli racisms have many traits in common (since both societies derive their existence from colonialism and expropriation of land belonging to others), they, nevertheless, differ in one crucial respect: American racism is a product of self-styled and self-generated colonialism; Israeli colonialism is dependent, that is, Israel cannot sustain its colonialism from inside. In fact, without Western aid, Israel’s collapse is a distinct possibility notwithstanding its nuclear weapons and so-called military superiority over its adversaries. Paradoxically, Zionism itself (as a racist doctrine) is the causative factor in making Israel insecure psychologically.

This insecurity finds its justification in a paradox whereby Jews believe they are superior since a mythological deity chose them to be a “special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth,” (Deuteronomy 7:6). (For the record, fundamentalist Christian zealots back Jews’ (accepting that they are the successor of the Israelites) self-bestowed sense of superiority despite the fact that the Zionist state discriminates against Palestinian Christians under its occupation. In his book, Ballam’s Curse, Moshe Leshem, a former Israeli diplomat, summarized the essence of Israeli supremacist beliefs as follows:

“… But in order to win support from the mass of European Jews, the early Zionists misappropriated the trappings of religious Judaism, portraying their hopes-for Jewish state as the fulfillment of the Jewish people’s theological destiny—their Biblically ordained role as the Chosen People that through whom God would redeem mankind.”1 [italics added]

Interestingly, and based on Leshem’s statement, the problem that makes Israel such a busy nest of racism is, then, twofold:

1. The dogma of the Judaic religion that makes its adherents believe in their uniqueness,

2. The Zionist belief that they can create a state exclusive for the Jews at the expense of the Palestinians while they can still control the entire globe with extensive networks of Jews having diverse nationalities.

The other reason for Israeli racism is a material-ideological sickness that tends to view the Arabs and Palestinians as necessarily wicked because they refuse subjugation to the Zionist order in the Middle East. Ultimately, a sense of Zionist superiority must be at play because no matter what atrocities they commit, western imperialist states are on their side but that, of course, is not because of tender mercies or love; it is because Israel is the right instrument to revamp colonialism.

.......Zionists maybe able to re-write history and believe in it too, but objective forces of history would always be able to erase the spurious chapters and re-write things differently. History is just the recordings of past events by humans; this matter, evidenced by rewritings and re-analysis of historical events illustrates the fluidity of history. This argues resolutely against any era of history that some try to depict sacrosanct and beyond reproach.

Then, the greatest challenge we face is, how can we verify historical facts and what source can we trust for historical truths in the age of mass manipulation? Opening history for scrutiny, refutation, affirmation, and confirmation is just a first step in the right direction, and that is if the word “right” can still make sense in a world dominated by imperialist ideologies, globalist corporations, and fascist institutions whose principle aim is repackaging information, distorting news, and detaching reality from real events.

.......Furthermore, hypothetically, if there is such a beast as the right of a state to exist, then that right to exist must be retroactive universally. An asserted right of one group cannot exist on the extinguishment of a right for another group — to do so would be reductio ad absurdum. Arguably, therefore, if the existence of a state to exist is to be a universally recognized right, then this universality must be equally applicable to all. Racism and dispossession of the Palestinians violate their human rights. Palestinian human rights activist Omar Barghouti recently stated: “No state has the right to exist as a racist state.” Israeli rejectionism of this reality is a rejection of peace since wars, including future wars would be, by default, the method to resolve the history of dispossession and occupation.

Also, referring to a widespread acceptance of a grotesque violation of law does not legitimize that violation of law. That the UN sanctions the violation of the human rights of a group, that the UN violates its very own charter that recognizes the right of a people to self-determination does not wrap the dispossession of the indigenous Palestinian people in any legitimate legality and certainly not in any morality. The fact is that European Jews were invaders and colonizers. They had the right to immigrate legally, they had the right to buy land legally, but they did not have the right to dispossess the Palestinians. Few people are ready to unequivocally agree that theft is a right. But that is, in effect, the unethical nonsense supporters of Zionism are arguing.

People create laws for many reasons. Presumably, the guiding reason is to prevent crimes and keep society ordered equitably for the good and security of all citizens. Whatever laws humans may devise, there are guiding principles that have some basis in morality, and these principles should supersede and underlie law. Legal positions without a basis in morality are, arguably, of dubious legitimacy. We stand by a principle: Forcible transfer of a targeted people — especially an indigenous people — is not only a quintessential crime but also an act of war that only resistance can reverse.

We also agree with the principle enshrined in international law: People have a right to resist their occupation and oppression.

Kim Petersen is co-editor of Dissident Voice. B. J. Sabri is an Iraqi-American antiwar activist.

Full Article @

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/01/defining-israeli-zionist-racism-pa...

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

Israel's false friends

U.S. presidential candidates aren't doing the Jewish state any favors by offering unconditional support.

By John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
January 6, 2008

Once again, as the presidential campaign season gets underway, the leading candidates are going to enormous lengths to demonstrate their devotion to the state of Israel and their steadfast commitment to its "special relationship" with the United States.

Each of the main contenders emphatically favors giving Israel extraordinary material and diplomatic support -- continuing the more than $3 billion in foreign aid each year to a country whose per capita income is now 29th in the world. They also believe that this aid should be given unconditionally. None of them criticizes Israel's conduct, even when its actions threaten U.S. interests, are at odds with American values or even when they are harmful to Israel itself. In short, the candidates believe that the U.S. should support Israel no matter what it does.

Such pandering is hardly surprising, because contenders for high office routinely court special interest groups, and Israel's staunchest supporters -- the Israel lobby, as we have termed it -- expect it. Politicians do not want to offend Jewish Americans or "Christian Zionists," two groups that are deeply engaged in the political process. Candidates fear, with some justification, that even well-intentioned criticism of Israel's policies may lead these groups to turn against them and back their opponents instead.

If this happened, trouble would arise on many fronts. Israel's friends in the media would take aim at the candidate, and campaign contributions from pro-Israel individuals and political action committees would go elsewhere. Moreover, most Jewish voters live in states with many electoral votes, which increases their weight in close elections (remember Florida in 2000?), and a candidate seen as insufficiently committed to Israel would lose some of their support. And no Republican would want to alienate the pro-Israel subset of the Christian evangelical movement, which is a significant part of the GOP base.

Indeed, even suggesting that the U.S. adopt a more impartial stance toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can get a candidate into serious trouble. When Howard Dean proposed during the 2004 campaign that the United States take a more "evenhanded" role in the peace process, he was severely criticized by prominent Democrats, and a rival for the nomination, Sen. Joe Lieberman, accused him of "selling Israel down the river" and said Dean's comments were "irresponsible."

Word quickly spread in the American Jewish community that Dean was hostile to Israel, even though his campaign co-chair was a former president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Dean had been strongly pro-Israel throughout his career. The candidates in the 2008 election surely want to avoid Dean's fate, so they are all trying to prove that they are Israel's best friend.

These candidates, however, are no friends of Israel. They are facilitating its pursuit of self-destructive policies that no true friend would favor.

The key issue here is the future of Gaza and the West Bank, which Israel conquered in 1967 and still controls. Israel faces a stark choice regarding these territories, which are home to roughly 3.8 million Palestinians. It can opt for a two-state solution, turning over almost all of the West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinians and allowing them to create a viable state on those lands in return for a comprehensive peace agreement designed to allow Israel to live securely within its pre-1967 borders (with some minor modifications). Or it can retain control of the territories it occupies or surrounds, building more settlements and bypass roads and confining the Palestinians to a handful of impoverished enclaves in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel would control the borders around those enclaves and the air above them, thus severely restricting the Palestinians' freedom of movement.

But if Israel chooses this second option, it will lead to an apartheid state. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said as much when he recently proclaimed that if "the two-state solution collapses," Israel will "face a South African-style struggle." He went so far as to argue that "as soon as that happens, the state of Israel is finished." Similarly, Israel's deputy prime minister, Haim Ramon, said earlier this month that "the occupation is a threat to the existence of the state of Israel." Other Israelis, as well as Jimmy Carter and Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have warned that continuing the occupation will turn Israel into an apartheid state. Nevertheless, Israel continues to expand its settlements on the West Bank while the plight of the Palestinians worsens.

Given this grim situation, one would expect the presidential candidates, who claim to care deeply about Israel, to be sounding the alarm and energetically championing a two-state solution. One would expect them to have encouraged President Bush to put significant pressure on both the Israelis and the Palestinians at the recent Annapolis conference and to keep the pressure on when he visits the region this week. As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently observed, settling this conflict is also in America's interest, not to mention the Palestinians'.

One would certainly expect Hillary Clinton to be leading the charge here. After all, she wisely and bravely called for establishing a Palestinian state "that is on the same footing as other states" in 1998, when it was still politically incorrect to use the words "Palestinian state" openly. Moreover, her husband not only championed a two-state solution as president but he laid out the famous "Clinton parameters" in December 2000, which outline the only realistic deal for ending the conflict.

But what is Clinton saying now that she is a candidate? She said hardly anything about pushing the peace process forward at Annapolis, and remained silent when Rice criticized Israel's subsequent announcement that it planned to build more than 300 new housing units in East Jerusalem. More important, both she and GOP aspirant Rudy Giuliani recently proclaimed that Jerusalem must remain undivided, a position that is at odds with the Clinton parameters and virtually guarantees that there will be no Palestinian state.

Sen. Clinton's behavior is hardly unusual among the candidates for president. Barack Obama, who expressed some sympathy for the Palestinians before he set his sights on the White House, now has little to say about their plight, and he too said little about what should have been done at Annapolis to facilitate peace. The other major contenders are ardent in their declarations of support for Israel, and none of them apparently sees a two-state solution as so urgent that they should press both sides to reach an agreement. As Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former U.S. national security advisor and now a senior advisor to Obama, noted, "The presidential candidates don't see any payoff in addressing the Israel-Palestinian issue." But they do see a significant political payoff in backing Israel to the hilt, even when it is pursuing a policy -- colonizing the West Bank -- that is morally and strategically bankrupt.

In short, the presidential candidates are no friends of Israel. They are like most U.S. politicians, who reflexively mouth pro-Israel platitudes while continuing to endorse and subsidize policies that are in fact harmful to the Jewish state. A genuine friend would tell Israel that it was acting foolishly, and would do whatever he or she could to get Israel to change its misguided behavior. And that will require challenging the special interest groups whose hard-line views have been obstacles to peace for many years.

As former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami argued in 2006, the American presidents who have made the greatest contribution to peace -- Carter and George H.W. Bush -- succeeded because they were "ready to confront Israel head-on and overlook the sensibilities of her friends in America." If the Democratic and Republican contenders were true friends of Israel, they would be warning it about the danger of becoming an apartheid state, just as Carter did.

Moreover, they would be calling for an end to the occupation and the creation of a viable Palestinian state. And they would be calling for the United States to act as an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians so that Washington could pressure both sides to accept a solution based on the Clinton parameters. Implementing a final-status agreement will be difficult and take a number of years, but it is imperative that the two sides formally agree on the solution and then implement it in ways that protect each side.

But Israel's false friends cannot say any of these things, or even discuss the issue honestly. Why? Because they fear that speaking the truth would incur the wrath of the hard-liners who dominate the main organizations in the Israel lobby. So Israel will end up controlling Gaza and the West Bank for the foreseeable future, turning itself into an apartheid state in the process. And all of this will be done with the backing of its so-called friends, including the current presidential candidates. With friends like them, who needs enemies?

John J. Mearsheimer is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago. Stephen M. Walt is a professor of international affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. They are the authors of "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," published last year by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Published first @
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-mearsheimer6...

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

"The only thing that can save Palestinians is for the world to say "ENOUGH is ENOUGH!"

With President Bush's plan to land in Tel Aviv in two days and a thoughtful reader's email to me this AM, i was inspired to repeat myself with something I wrote in 2006:

The Red House

In Tel Aviv "on March 10, 1948, eleven men had a meeting in the Red House headed by Ben Gurion. The eleven decided to expel one million Palestinians from historical Palestine. No minutes were taken, but many memoirs were written about that fateful meeting. A systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestine began and within seven months the Zionists managed to expel one half of all the Palestinian people from their villages and towns."-Dr. Ilan Pappe.

Dr. Pappe is Israeli born and a graduate of Hebrew University and Oxford and is currently teaching at Haifa University. He is a well known revisionist or "post-Zionist" Israeli historian who has been both acclaimed and demonized. His most recent work is A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples which documents the expulsion of Palestinians as an orchestrated crime of ethnic cleansing.

Dr. Ilan Pappe spoke in East Jerusalem, Nov. 8, 2006 at the Notre Dame Conference center to over 330 International ecumenical Christians during Sabeel's [www.sabeel.org] 6th International Conference: The Forgotten Faithful: AKA Palestinian Christians.

His topic was the "Dynamics of Forgetting" and because of the "fierce urgency of now" [-Rev. MLK, Jr.] the world is beginning to remember that once there was a Red House, which birthed a most diabolical plan.

He stated, "The Red House in Tel Aviv is gone now. It was a typical building in Tel Aviv that had all the characteristics of Mediterranean homes but with the local Palestinian architecture of the '20's. Today a USA Sheraton Hotel stands in its place. The Red House was the home of the Hagganah; a Jewish underground organization but before 1948 it was the home of a socialist movement, from which it received its name."

Haganah is Hebrew for "The Defense" and was a Jewish paramilitary organization formed in what was then the British Mandate for Palestine from 1920 to 1948. It began as a small group of "Jewish immigrants who guarded settlements for an annual fee. At no time did the group have more than 100 members until after the Arab riots of 1920 and 1921. The Jewish leadership in Palestine believed that the British, whom the League of Nations had given the Mandate of Palestine in 1920, had no desire to confront the Arabs about attacks on the Palestinian Jews, and thus created the Haganah to protect their farmers and settlements. The initial role of the Haganah was to guard the Jewish Kibbutzim and farms, and to warn the residents of and repel attacks by Palestinian Arabs.

"In the period between 1920 and 1929, the Haganah lacked a strong central authority or coordination. Haganah "units" were very localized and poorly armed: they consisted mainly of Jewish farmers who took turns guarding their farms or their kibbutzim. Following the Arab 1929 Hebron massacre that led to the ethnic cleansing by the British authorities of all Jews from the city of Hebron, the Haganah's role changed dramatically. It became a much larger organization encompassing nearly all the youth and adults in the Jewish settlements, as well as thousands of members from the cities. It also acquired foreign arms and began to develop workshops to create hand grenades and simple military equipment. It went from being an untrained militia to a capable army."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagganah

The British did not officially recognize the Haganah,but the British security forces cooperated with it by forming the Jewish Settlement Police, Jewish Auxiliary Forces and Special Night Squads. By 1931, the most right-wing elements of Haganah branched off and formed Irgun Tsva'i-Leumi (the National Military Organization), better known as "Irgun" (or by its Hebrew acronym, pronounced "HaEtsel"). They were discontented with the policy of restraint when faced with British and Arab pressure and "terrorists" in their own right. Irgun later split in 1940, and their off-shoot became known as the "Lehi" (Hebrew acronym of Lochamei Herut Israel, standing for Freedom Fighters of Israel, and also known by the British as the "Stern Gang" after its leader, Abraham Stern).

Because the British severely restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine, in 1939 the Haganah created the Palmach - the Haganah's strike force, which also organized illegal Jewish immigration of over 100,000 Jews to Palestine.

In 1944, in response to the assassination of Lord Moyne (the British Minister of State for the Middle East) by members of the Jewish Lehi underground, the Haganah worked with the British to round up, interrogate, and, in some cases, deport Irgun members. This action was called the Saison (or hunting season), and seriously demoralized the Irgun and reduced its activities.

The Saison could not stop the Irgun, Haganah and the Stern Group from working together. The three groups had different functions, which served to move the British out of Palestine and to make Palestine a Jewish state rather than created a Jewish home in Palestine.

Menachem Begin, an Irgun commander, stated in a 1944 meeting: "In fact, there is a division of roles; One organization advocates individual terrorism (the Lehi), the other conducts sporadic military operations (the Irgun) and there is a third organisation which prepares itself to throw its final weight in the decisive war."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagganah

According to Dr. Pappe, "On March 10, 1948, eleven men had a meeting in the Red House headed by Ben Gurion. The eleven decided to expel one million Palestinians from historical Palestine. No minutes were taken, but many memoirs were written about that fateful meeting. A systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestine began and within seven months the Zionists managed to expel one half of all the Palestinian people from their villages and towns.

"The New York Times followed Israeli troops and reported the truth of the expulsion and separation of men and women, and of the many massacres. The world was well informed in 1948, but a year later not a trace was reported in the USA press or books. It was as if nothing ever happened.

"From March to October 1948 the USA State Department stated what was happening was a CRIME against humanity and ethnic cleansing. When ever one ethnic group expels another group they should be treated as War Criminals and the victims should be allowed to return. This is never mentioned in the USA about Palestine.

"Israel is so successful in their ethnic cleansing because the world doesn't care! The ethnic cleansing continues via the apartheid policies of the Israeli government and because of the denial of the truth by the USA media.

"To claim Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East is bullshit! The Six Day War of 1967 escalated the ethnic cleansing and today in Jerusalem every Palestinian who fails to pay taxes, or has a minor infraction will loose their citizenship.

"In 1948 the mechanism of denial and ethnic cleansing as an IDEOLOGY, not a policy but a formula began. When Zionism began in the 19th century it was meant to be a safe haven for Jews and to help redefine Judaism as a national movement, not just a religion. Nothing wrong with either of those goals!

"But by the late 19th Century it was decided the only way these goals could be achieved was by ridding the indigenous population and it became an evil ideology.

"Israeli Jewish life will never be simple, good, or worth living while this ideology of domination, exclusiveness and superiority is allowed to continue. The mind set today is that unless Israel is an exclusive Jewish State, Palestinians will continue to be obstacles. However, there has always been a small vocal minority challenging this.

"The only thing that can save Palestinians is for the world to say "ENOUGH is ENOUGH!" The way to challenge and change the ethnic cleansing is to pursue true democracy and the use of sanctions and divestment, for money talks."[end Dr. Pappe]

"America's $84.8 billion in aid to Israel from fiscal years 1949 through 1998, and the interest the U.S. paid to borrow this money, has cost U.S. taxpayers $134.8 billion, not adjusted for inflation. Or, put another way, the nearly $14,630 every one of 5.8 million Israelis received from the U.S. government by Oct. 31, 1997 has cost American taxpayers $23,240 per Israeli."
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/cost_of_israel.html

"The Israeli government and military receive $15,139,178.00 from the USA every day while NGO's working to feed and care for the poor in Palestine receive $232,290.00 from the USA per day."
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/usaid.html

In June 2005, I visited Rev. Naim Ateek at his Jerusalem Sabeel [www.sabeel.org ]office. I had been reading the Sabeel Documents about the divestment issue especially in regards to Sabeel's position on morally responsible investment as a nonviolent response to the occupation. I commented then that is exactly the issue American Christians should be discussing and not the continuing debate over the mystery of love and marriage in regards to gays and lesbians and the ordination of the first HONEST gay Bishop Gene Robinson.

"The fierce urgency of now"[Rev. MLK, Jr.] should compel all USA citizens to seriously consider, debate and take action on where we lay down our money, what we invest in and how our government spends our hard earned tax dollars.

To continue to support corporations that support occupation and fuel the fire of terrorism should be morally repugnant to any one of good will as those actions are not democratic.

Rev. Ateek has been demonized as an anti-Semite because of his outspoken and firm stand for justice and only justice as the way to peace and security for all the people in the Holy Land.

People have rights, governments have obligations! JUSTICE requires equal human rights for all and that governments honor international law.

Money talks and the USA should only support democracies that are true to that name, for a democracy guarantees, delivers and protects all people with equal human rights.

IMAGINE what a wonderful world it will be when President Bush honors these words he said in his Second Inaugural Address :

"In the long run, there is no justice without FREEDOM. There can be no human rights without LIBERTY. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for liberty, we stand with you."

"The fierce urgency of now" should compel all USA citizens to phone, fax and email President Bush to honor that vow.

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

By Tony Campolo, professor of sociology, Eastern University

NUMBER 2 is Dr. Reverend Stephen Sizer's "Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon?"

A comprehensive survey describing how Christians have embraced a theological perspective that has encouraged justice for Jews, but has also led to the oppression of Palestinian people and extreme hostility between Christians and Muslims worldwide.

Number 5 is "The Prophets" by Abraham J Heschel

Provides rich insights from the Hebrew prophets as they empathized with the pathos that God shows upon seeing the oppression of the poor.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/january/14.61.html

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today.

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

Story Highlights:
- Senior Iranian Jew calls mass emigration of 40 Jews to Israel "misinformation"
- 40 Iranian Jews landed in Israel on December 25
- U.S.-based group behind incident receives cash from evangelical Christians
- Each immigrant received $10,000 to cover abanonded possessions, group admits

The well-publicized landing of 40 Iranian Jews in Israel on Tuesday spurred glee among some Israelis and the immigrants themselves and drew public scorn from a surprising quarter in Iran -- two officials from its centuries-old Jewish community.

One of them described the emigration as a "misinformation" campaign and defended their lives under the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The arrival in Israel was publicized as the largest single group to arrive in Israel from Iran since Iran's Islamic Revolution, and the immigrants traveled via an undisclosed third country. Other Iranian Jews have immigrated to Israel over the years.

Anti-Semitism has been a worldwide phenomenon for centuries and the state of Israel became a homeland for Jews to escape anti-Semitic persecution.

The group that sponsored the immigration is the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, based in Chicago. It says it wants to help Jews flee such persecution. The group receives money from evangelical Christians.

Its founder, Rabbi Yehiel Eckstein, believes Iranian Jews face dangers, citing the words of Ahmadinejad, who has urged Israel's destruction but not by military means.

There has been great criticism of Ahmadinejad by Jews across the globe for his remarks about Israel, for the government's stance toward Israel, and for the regime's sponsorship of a recent Holocaust denial seminar.

Eckstein said immigrants received $10,000 each because they left behind possessions to go to Israel.

Noting the evangelical support from his group, Eckstein, in fact, believes it's no "coincidence" that the people came to Israel on Christmas Day, which Eckstein describes as "kind of a Christmas present to these folks from Christians in America who seek to tell Israel and the Jewish people that they're not alone."

The immigration comes at a time of great tension between Iran, whose president stoutly rejects the Jewish state's existence, and Israel, which asserts that Iran is funding terrorism, has ambitions to develop nuclear weapons, and is intent on destroying the Jewish state.

But the account of the mass immigration was vehemently disputed among Jewish officials in Tehran who defend Jewish life there.

The man representing Iranian Jews in Iran's parliament on Wednesday disputed the notion of an organized immigration of Iranian Jews to Israel, saying he would have known about such a development.

Iranian MP Morris Motamed told CNN that he and Ciamak Morehsadegh, the director of the Tehran Jewish Community, had issued a statement condemning the spread of false news about an evangelical organization facilitating the immigration of 40 Iranian Jews to Israel.

Iranian Jews can travel anywhere they want, anytime they want, but like other Iranians they are not allowed to go to Israel, Motamed said.

Even with that, some Iranian Jews may decide to travel to and from Israel via a third country to visit their families or to visit for religious reasons.

However, Motamed called the news a "misinformation" campaign aimed at creating an atmosphere of distrust between the Muslim and Jewish communities in Iran. He said it is meant to make Iranian Jews feel unsafe and vulnerable in their own country.

He said that before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iranian Jews numbered more than 100,000, but like other minorities their numbers diminished because of immigration.

He said almost 95 percent of Iranian Jews went to the United States and as a result there is now quite a sizable Iranian Jewish community there. The remaining 5 percent, he said, went to Europe and Israel.

There are as many as an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Jews remaining in Iran, the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel, according to CNN's Shirzad Bozorghmehr.

The U.S. State Department's 2007 report on religious freedom says the Iranian government's "rhetoric and actions created a threatening atmosphere for nearly all non-Shi'a religious groups, most notably for Baha'i's," who are based in the Israeli city of Haifa. It also cites "Sufi Muslims, evangelical Christians, and members of the Jewish community."

Jews by Iranian constitutional law have the right to practice their religion and "with some exception," there has been scant government restriction and interference with religious practices, the report said.

However, "members of these recognized minority religious groups have reported government imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on their religious beliefs."

Jewish education has been tougher to carry out, there has been a rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric, and assaults on two synagogues, the report said. Their contact with or support for the state of Israel has been squelched "out of fear of reprisal."

"Recent anti-American and anti-Israeli demonstrations included the denunciation of Jews, as opposed to the past practice of denouncing only 'Israel' and "Zionism," adding to the threatening atmosphere for the community," the report said.

In the Islamic Republic's Jewish community, there is a different view from voices emerging.

Morehsadegh described the Jewish community in Tehran as alive and well, with 20 synagogues, more than eight butcher shops, two restaurants, and four youth groups.

"There is no doubt that the Holocaust happened," he said. "But we disagree with the superpowers who have misused this incident to their own benefit."

-------
CNN's Shirzad Bozorgmehr contributed to this report

http://edition.cnn.com:80/2007/WORLD/meast/12/26/iran.israel.jews/?iref=...
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/12/26/iran.israel.jews/?iref=hpm...

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

An Open Letter to Susan Sarandon

December 26, 2007
Dear Ms. Sarandon,

We felt sorrow when we learned that you accepted Lev Leviev’s invitation to attend the opening night event for his new jewelry store in New York City on November 13 while our friends protested outside, because we respect you for your support for human rights, for your courage in speaking since 2002 against the US war on Iraq, and for your many other honorable public positions.

Lev Leviev is building Israeli settlements on Bil’in and Jayyous’ land, and is also building in the settlements of Har Homa and Maale Adumim around Jerusalem, in violation of international law. Leviev is destroying the olive groves and farms that have sustained our villages for centuries, and is profiting from human rights abuses.

We were reassured to learn from our colleagues in New York City that you expressed interest in learning more about these issues. We still hope that you will also speak in support peace and justice in Palestine. We invite you and would be very pleased to welcome you to visit Palestine, specifically Jayyous and Bil’in, in order to witness what Leviev’s settlements are doing to our communities.

Bil’in: The olive is a symbol of our land and of the Palestinian people. We are connected to the land. We were born in Bil'in like our fathers and grandfathers and their fathers. We belong here. Our mothers took us to harvest olives before we could speak. We remember playing under the olive trees which have since been uprooted by Israeli settlers who have come to live here. There is now a huge and growing settlement called Modi’in Illit where we played as children. It is hard for us to understand that our children cannot play in the same places where we played.

As a result, for the last three years in Bil'in we have engaged in a nonviolent campaign of creative protests with the support of Israeli and international activists to prevent the seizure by Israeli of 50% of our village's land for the construction of Israel’s wall and the expansion of Modi’in Illit. The Israelis want to control the Palestinians, push us off our land and seize it for themselves. In Bil'in, we have chosen a strategy which makes clear who is the victim and who is the victimizer. We know the Israeli army can choose to deal with us in two ways. If they choose violence, we make sure to get photographs for the media so that everyone sees what we were up against. And if they don’t use violence then we achieve our aim of stopping their bulldozers and delaying construction of their Wall and settlements. But even if the soldiers put down their weapons, which they have not, that would not make us equals in the field. We would always be the stronger because we have the power of justice on our side. We want all the other Palestinians to see this and understand that this is the basis of our strategy.

Over three years of protests in Bil'in more than 800 activists were injured in more than 200 demonstrations in Bil'in. An Israeli attorney and a Bil'in resident both suffered permanent brain damage from rubber-coated steel bullets shot by Israeli soldiers from close range. Another Palestinian lost sight in one eye. 49 Bil’in residents, including some protest leaders, were arrested. Some spent months in prison.

As a result of our protests and in response to our legal petition, in September, 2007, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that Israel's wall must be rerouted to return half of our land that was being seized, but the Supreme Court also legalized the settlement that Leviev is building on the remaining 25% of our land, though the wall is being built in violation of even Israeli law.

In response, we vowed to continue our nonviolent struggle to save the olive groves that our families have cultivated for centuries, and we have put our experience at the service of other communities struggling against the wall and settlements.

Jayyous: In October, 1988 the Israeli military governor of our district, Qalqilya, gave Jayyous’ mayor a military declaration saying that nearly 500 acres of Jayyous’ agricultural land was “state land.” The declaration granted us 45 days to prepare our landownership documents and maps to appeal that decision to an Israeli military court. 79 farmers from Jayyous appealed. The Israeli government has used British mandate laws, Ottoman laws, and the absentee landlord law to confiscate Palestinians’ land. If this is not enough the Israeli army confiscates our land for “security reasons.” Jayyous’ farmland includes some of the most fertile and water-rich land in the West Bank.

In May, 1996, the Israeli court decided on our 1988 appeal. 18 farmers from Jayyous lost all their land, some lost part of their land, while others kept their land. In 1993 LIDAR - a real state enterprise owned by the businessman Lev Leviev - established a quarry on some of Jayyous’ land that we were appealing to keep, three years before the Israeli court decision which took that land away.

During this period it became clear that LIDAR was an enemy of the people of Jayyous. LIDAR used bulldozers to prepare our land for houses for Israeli settlers, and TNT to detonate more than 16 acres for a quarry. They uprooted all the olive trees on that land. As a direct result of the quarry work, all the neighboring vegetables and fruit around have been covered with dust. LIDAR also uprooted the olive trees on two other plots. Many olive trees died because sewage from Zufim ran for many years through other plots. Other plots were annexed to Zufim.

LIDAR then announced that it would build 1500 new homes in a large area located 1.2 miles north of Zufim for “North Zufim.” Finally, in 2002 the Israel government began building its wall in Jayyous, up to 3.5 miles from the border with Israel, so as to annex 75% of Jayyous’ land (1700 acres) and six underground wells for Zufim. The land to be cut off was used to grow fruits and vegetables which sustain our village’s economy. According to the respected Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem’s 2005 report “Under the Guise of Security”, “the primary consideration in determining the route of the barrier around Zufin was to leave areas planned for the settlement’s expansion and for a nearby industrial zone on the ‘Israeli’ side of the barrier”, thus increasing “the number of Palestinians who are separated from their farmland, infringing their right to freedom of movement, their right to work and gain a livelihood, and their right of property.”

Despite more than 60 nonviolent protests organized by Jayyous’ people, and supported by Israeli and international activists, the wall has been built here, destroying 130 acres of Jayyous’ land, uprooting 4,000 trees and cutting off 75% of our land. 419 residents from Jayyous have been denied permits to pass through the gate in the Wall to reach their farmland. More than 70% of Jayyous’ farmers are now denied access to their land, many to the area where Leviev plans to expand Zufim. Hundreds of Israeli activists helped us to harvest our olives this fall because so many people from Jayyous could not reach their land.

* * *

We are engaged in a struggle for justice, for our freedom – indeed, for our very lives. We call on you, Ms. Sarandon, to end your relationship with Lev Leviev and stand with us in our struggle to save our land and our communities. We want you to see the facts here, and see what Leviev’s companies LIDAR and Danya Cebus are doing to our land. We would also be pleased to arrange meetings for you with Israeli and international peace activists who participate in our peaceful activities against the construction of settlements and the wall on our land.

As one option, we invite you to join us for Bil'in's 3rd annual International Conference on Popular Struggle from April 30th- May 2, 2008. In 2007, our conference was attended by participants from around the world, including Irish Nobel Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, activists from South Africa, and Israeli participants like Nobel prize nominee Jeff Halper, the Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD).

But whenever you choose to come - as a supporter of human rights for all peoples, regardless of ethnicity, religion, class or gender - you will be most welcome in Bil'in and Jayyous.

We hope that you will accept our invitation. Awaiting your kind reply we remain,

Mohammed Khatib for Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements

Sharif Omar for Jayyous’ Land Defense Committee

For background on Susan Sarandon and Lev Leviev:

-November 17 news report on Sarandon attendance at LEVIEV New York opening event

http://www.nypost. com/seven/ 11172007/ gossip/pagesix/ her_best_ friends_643816. htm

-November 20 letter to Sarandon from Adalah-NY
http://www.mideastj ustice.org/ index.php? option=com_ content&task= view&id=98& Itemid=61

-December 13 letter to Sarandon from US group Jewish Voice for Peace

http://www.jewishvo iceforpeace. org/publish/ article_928. shtml

More on Mohammed Khatib and Bil’in:
-One Village Struggles Against Israel’s Ever-expanding Settlements, Mohammed Khatib, Sept. 26, 2007,
http://www.alternet .org/story/ 63640/

-Help Us Stop Israel’s Wall Peacefully, Mohammed Khatib, July 12, 2005:

http://www.iht. com/articles/ 2005/07/11/ opinion/edkhatib .php-http://www.bilin- village.org/

More on Sharif Omar and Jayyous:
-Israel’s Wall Hems in Livelihoods and Dreams, Sharif Omar, August 17, 2003

http://www.usatoday .com/news/ opinion/editoria ls/2003-08- 17-omar_x. htm

-Farmers Denied Access to Their Land, Amnesty International, Oct. 15, 2007

http://www.amnesty. ca/take_action/ actions/israel_ ot_palestine_ farmers.php

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

It was on June 8, 2007, at a luncheon for the 27th annual American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Washington, D.C. Conference, that 86 year old, walker-bound Congressman Paul Findley, a moderate Republican WOKE me UP about the LIBERTY:

“I was here for the first convention 27 years ago and I still have a fire in my belly for the civil and human rights of Arabs. It is time to speak openly and honestly about Israel. But, in American politics, that is still forbidden.

“…Pity that we cannot seem to shed our fear of Israel. We are afraid to speak out on Capitol Hill, for fear of losing the next election. They are more like trained poodles jumping through hoops than leaders!

"Why this fear? How did we get here?

“Forty years ago to this day, June 8, 1967 the change occurred, the floodgates opened and money poured into Israel as never before. When President Johnson heard about the U.S.S. Liberty being attacked by Israel he ordered the rescue fighter planes to return to the deck. The rescue mission was aborted and the survivors have said they heard LBJ’s voice tell Admiral Giess,

'Get those planes back on deck. I don’t care if the ship sinks, I will not embarrass Israel.'

“LBJ also threatened to court martial anyone who reported what had happened. Johnson accepted Israel’s false claim of “mistaken identity” and he knew it was a lie. That is when the change began and Israel learned they could get away with murdering U.S.A. soldiers."

It was on October 13, 2007, that I met my first LIBERTY Vet and got on board in the effort to EMBARASS CONGRESS:

OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS BY THE SURVIVORS OF THE USS LIBERTY

December 26, 2007

I have been writing letters to our elected officials for the past 20 years, trying to get a congressional investigation into the deliberate attack on the USS LIBERTY on June 8, 1967 by the government of Israel. This atrocity and cold-blooded murder of America’s sons on the high seas was an act of war against the United States of America, not to mention the numerous war crimes committed against the crew of the USS LIBERTY.

Being that this is America where there exists at least a small shred of freedom, including freedom of speech and the right of redress to our government, let me speak to you then like an American, and as you read this, remember something, you asked for it. A great man once said ‘What you sow also shall you reap,’ and with that in mind what you are about to hear from me–which mirrors the thoughts and feelings of not only my fellow crew members but also a good portion of the American people, is a badge that you have earned by your own actions, so wear it with pride.

You, our elected officials, are in truth nothing but a bunch of stooges and front men for the government of Israel. Whatever Israel wants, Israel gets, no matter what. If you don’t follow their every want and need you won’t be in congress very long and you damned-well know it. The power the Israeli Lobby has over you is only slightly less sickening than what is your willingness to bow to their every damned demand. You are as guilty of murdering my shipmates as the Israelis are. You have their blood on your hands because you continue to cover up the truth concerning what happened to them. In a better time in America’s history, that would be considered treason, every bit as much as Benedict Arnold attempting to turn over West Point to the British during our own war for freedom. Were you ordinary people and not members of the US Congress your crimes would be considered accessory to murder and you would be put away for life.

You took an oath to protect and serve and honor the Constitution of the United States, not to serve Israel, and yet you serve the Jewish state rather than your own nation and even when you know it’s wrong. They are your masters and always will be until you get some backbone and say ‘enough already’.

The USS LIBERTY Veterans Association wants a Congressional investigation so that we–the survivors of the nearly-2-hour attack–can be questioned in an open and fair hearing. If an American ship were attacked by any other country, and especially by one of those other Middle Eastern countries that are on Israel’s hit-list, you know full-well that there would be investigations coming out our ears to the point where no other business in Congress would be taking place. Is this–a proper investigation into an act of war perpetrated against the people of the United States–to ask of our elected members of Congress who swore an oath of loyalty to the US by combat wounded veterans who swore an oath to protect and serve this country? Many gave their lives doing just that.

But we know what is really going on here, don’t we now, Mr. or Mz. Congressperson? We all know why a proper investigation cannot be allowed to take place, which is that the truth will overcome the mountain of lies that Israel has vomited out these 40 years about the attack being a case of ‘mistaken identity’, and we all know what would happen once the American people found out the truth, which is that Israel would be cut off from Uncle Sam’s generous bank account, or worse.

The last letter I got from my senator, Ken Salazar, on Nov. 27,2007 states as follows:

“Dear Phil,

Thank you for your letter regarding the 1967 attack on the U.S.S. Liberty. I appreciate hearing from you.

Multiple investigations have concluded that the Israeli forces who attacked the ship mistook it for an Egyptian vessel. The Israeli and U.S. governments closed the case in 1987, and the Israeli government has paid more that $13 million in reparations.

At this time, I do not think an additional investigation is necessary.

Again, thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

Ken Salazar

United States Senator

This was the standard form letter all of you send out to the survivors and the public. In fact, there has been only one investigation through the Board of Inquiry, which was a sham and cover-up for Israel. Look in the congressional record, senator, and show me where and when all of these ‘investigations’ took place. You can’t, and for one simple reason–THERE NEVER HAS BEEN ANY, NOT ONE. What you wrote me was a bold face lie and what that makes you sir is a liar, despite your undeserved title of ‘Honorable’. The proof of this is that a letter was sent from the Department of the Navy in response to an inquiry by Congressman Robert Simmons from Connecticut. His inquiry was made on March 16, 2005 and it clearly states that the Navy’s 5-day sham investigation is the ONLY investigation ever made by the U.S. Government, period! Check with your colleague for verification. One of the men who signed off on the Board of Inquiry, Captain Ward Boston, has recently come forward and said the Board of Inquiry was a lie which he was ordered to produce. That order came from none other than Admiral John S. McCain, Jr, Senator McCain’s father and the inquiry that should have lasted at least 6 months by Navy standards took less than ten days.

The money Israel paid our government for the attack was given to them by the U.S. Israel was out nothing, not one a dime. The ship alone was worth $40 million, for God’s sake. Don’t you think that this alone is proof of the US being short-changed? But then, this is what always happens when you deal with Israel, and what we don’t give her willingly she steals by spying. Case in point, Jonathan Pollard, and who knows how many others.

By the way, Senator Salazar, in your letter you did not even mention a word about the men murdered that day or the wounded, nor did you say a kind word to their families for the heartaches they have endured these last 40 years. That in itself is disgusting and disrespectful towards the men and women who wear the uniform of the U.S. military. Shame on you. You won’t honor our fallen heroes, you could care less. I can say one thing for certain though, which is that had you been there that day and experienced what we experienced or had you lost a son or brother as a result of ‘our friend’ Israel, you would not be so quick to give her a clean bill of health.

To all of you in Congress, once the American public finds out that you have been covering up for the government of Israel and our government, you will all be looking for new jobs, and that is putting it mildly. Nobody wants a bunch of flunkies and liars working for them and never before in the history of any nation have there been as many flunkies and liars than the US Congress today.

ANALYSIS

TRAITORS, COWARDS AND A “PARLIMENT OF WHORES”*

What better words define and describe the disloyal and treasonous government officials, who on June 8, 1967 allowed over 200 American sailors on the unarmed U.S.S. Liberty to be murdered and wounded in broad daylight in international waters in what was a deliberate attack by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats? Incredibly, these same subservient public officials, apparently owing their allegiance to a foreign entity, collaborated to protect a guilty Israel from public condemnation and punishment by manipulating and relegating the bloody massacre into a political black hole for four decades.

TRAITORS

President Lyndon B. Johnson and Sec of Defense Robert McNamara qualified as co-perpetrators in treason by ordering and executing the pull back of American aircraft responding to desperate calls from the helpless Liberty crew, and permitting the massacre to continue. Finally, the co-conspirators initiated and orchestrated a criminal cover up that remains in place to this day.

COWARDS

Every one of the faceless, gutless government officials and bureaucrats who know the truth and dare not to act or speak out.

“PARLIMENT OF WHORES”*

*(Patrick J. Buchanan’s incisive characterization of Congress’s servile sellout relationship with Israel.)

To date Congress has fearfully evaded and defaulted on its oversight responsibility to conduct an independent and open investigation to expose the truth of the deliberate and unprovoked attack on the U.S.S. Liberty by Israel. In fact, no investigation has ever been held at any level of government to investigate the Israeli treachery. Israeli political actions committees paid off and threatened members of Congress well for the pass - approximately $3,300,000.00 in the latest 2005-2006 election cycle, and over $50,000,000.00 since 1978. Of course a grateful Congress has reciprocated, having given lavishly to the Mideast mini state over $100,000,000,000.00 of U.S. taxpayers’ money. A return on investment that would put Warren Buffet to shame. Enough!

Allow the words of a few others finish this letter–“If American leaders did not have the courage to punish Israel for the blatant murder of American citizens, their American friends would let them get away with almost anything”–George Ball, Assistant Secretary of State, 1967

“The nation which indulges toward another… is in some degree a slave….a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils.”–President George Washington farewell address, Sept.17, 1796

“Never before in the history of the United States Navy has a Navy Board of Inquiry ignored the testimony of American military eyewitnesses and taken on faith the word of their attackers.”–Dr. Richard Kiepfer, Capt. USN ret. and USS Liberty survivor

Phillip F. Tourney, is a Christian, a patriot, a survivor of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, a hero and a friend of mine.

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

"People from abroad come here and give us sermons on nonviolence and I appreciate it, but why don't they preach nonviolence to Israel and America?"

[Bethlehem, West Bank] On July 25, 2007, Reverend Dr. Mitri Raheb, captivated over forty international youth who attended Sabeel's Second International Conference:

40 Years in the Wilderness…40 Years of Occupation…

Born in Bethlehem, Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, has been the Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas church in Bethlehem since 1988. He is the General Director of the International Center of Bethlehem/ICB, which provides the people of occupied territory training in arts, crafts, training and degrees in media and communications and health and wellness programs for youth and the elderly.

Raheb spoke with passion, "People need to see the potential of Palestine and Palestinians come to this center to create facts on the ground; creative and cultural facts on the ground while Israel creates destructive facts on the ground.

"We are not spectators, we have a role to play…we are nonviolent but I have problems with nonviolence; people from abroad come here and give us sermons on nonviolence and I appreciate it, but why don't they preach nonviolence to Israel and America?

"It's a miracle that the Palestinians are so nonviolent in spite of the abuse we live with on a daily basis. If you lived here every day you would get fed up too. The world assumes it is the Palestinians who are the violent ones, but nonviolence is who we are. If you operate in a system of violence you will also be violent when you go home.

"Palestinians who throw stones; and many think that is ok, but I say why do that? One day you will throw stones at Palestinians too and that is exactly what happened in Gaza, but the reason is the occupation! Where do you think Hamas learned to torture? In Israeli prisons from their captors!

"There is no way to end the violence without first ending the occupation. Our Palestinian government was boycotted for a year and a half by America and the EU: this is violence! As long as the violence is exercised against us that is OK with the world. When the Presbyterians talked divestment the Zionist rose up and said 'you can't do that!'

"I started interfaith dialogue in 1985 because Christians should not be islands and you don't dialogue just with yourself, you must dialogue with the other and the biggest temptation for the church is to stay within their walls and only be dedicated to their own members; which leads to a dead church. We are called to go out, and we do not just preach with words, people here are fed up with words; they hear one thing and see another with their eyes.

"They hear peace, peace, peace and for 85 years the politicians have been working for peace and the situation gets worse. Blair, and all the politicians are into PR for themselves; they do nothing for our situation. Blair got himself a good job marketing himself and he will come and go and Israel will continue building the wall, settlements and carving the West Bank into Swiss cheese; Israel gets the cheese and we Palestinians fall into the holes!

"Fifty million American dollars went to build the checkpoints to 'make our lives easier' we were told, but these checkpoints and terminals are not for people, they are for cattle!

"We have too much religion and it suffocates us! If God would speak today he would say, 'I am fed up with your religion!' The more religion there is; the less spirituality.

"During the Israeli invasion in 2002 when the Church of Nativity was occupied by the IDF and Palestinians were sheltered within, as an eyewitness I wrote 18 short stories that will keep you awake at night, in my book Bethlehem Besieged."

Immediately after Rev. Raheb spoke, I and my friend Daniel-who was born and lives in downtown Bethlehem-walked about a mile from the International Center to the nearly 60 year old Aida refugee camp, home to Palestinian Muslims who fled from their homes in 1948.

Just before entering the winding narrow alleys of the camp an old woman eating ice cream under the covered porch of a small grocery story caught my eye, as she only had one good one.

I asked Daniel to ask her if she knew any mothers with sons who would speak to me about their life in occupied territory. Immediately the diminutive lady dressed in traditional Palestinian Muslim attire, jumped up from her chair and beckoned me to sit down. Her grandson then appeared from inside the store and offered me and Daniel an ice cream bar. Within three minutes, his parents also arrived and I learned –via Daniel who acted as translator- that the 23 year old grandson in our midst is the only one of six brothers, who has not yet been imprisoned. The family is from Abu Gush, where a settlement now stands upon their homeland.

Mahmoud has been incarcerated for the last two years without charges and his first day in court was scheduled for July 26, 2007.

Mustafa has been imprisoned for eight years. He worked for the Palestinian police and was picked up for carrying a gun. I was told that a few years back, Ariel Sharon released him and for ten months he walked as free as one can, in occupied territory. One day the Israeli soldiers returned and picked him back up, claiming, "his release had been a mistake." The family believes a camp spy turned Mustafa in for being 'active' against the occupation.

I asked if he were Hamas or Fatah and was told; neither, that he is just like many others who resist the occupation but who are not political.

Sadaam in now 16 and has spent the last two years behind bars. His mother travels to one of the two main prisons for children –constructed with the assistance of USA tax dollars-under the age of 17 in Haifa, every few weeks and has been refused visits many times. She did see him two weeks ago and although healthy and clean, he is thin, depressed and angry. Sadaam was charged with having a knife, but his family denies the charge.

Daniel tells me it is common practice for the IDF to claim rocks were thrown at them and they were attacked with knives.

After I am offered beverages, the father of the clan stays at the store while grandma takes my hand and her daughter and grandson lead us to their home tucked within the narrow alleys of Aida camp.

Upon the living room wall is a landscape mural with a bullet hole delivered by the IDF. Pieces of exquisite art work were brought to me, all made in prison by the three sons. Their mother brings them pieces of silk, ribbons, fabric, buttons, gold and white beads, cardboard boxes, paints and the 'terrorists' who are in actuality artisans created a replica of the Al Aqsa Mosque, a sail boat, plaques and finger sized icons inscribed with hearts and names of family and friends. I am offered one constructed out of the top cover of a mattress; it is barely an inch wide and two inches long, stuffed a quarter of an inch think and sown by hand. In Arabic it say's "Sadaam and Khalid" who is a friend recently released from prison.

On one of the plaques which the grandmother held on her lap during my two hour visit, is inscribed: "To my loved ones, I left my life in the shadows, the life without you is too painful to even mention. See you later. -Mahmoud and Sadaam."

The young sister of the brothers, mother to two small boys tells Daniel, "I left Gaza on March 20, 2007. My husband has been there ever since he was sent there in 2002, after Bethlehem was besieged.

"It began on an ordinary day, helicopters and airplanes circled above and tanks came up the street. The soldiers were on the roof and breaking in doors and through walls. The resistance fighters and many young people ran to Manger Square. The soldiers stole money and jewelry. The Franciscan father Abraham Feltus sheltered my husband in the Church of the Nativity. After it was all over, I went and prayed and lit candles there."

Reported by the National Catholic Reporter on 4/26/2002, "the standoff between the Israeli Defense Force and the 250 Palestinians holed up inside the church along with 45 monks, nuns and priests…is taking a toll on both those inside the church and without. Bethlehem residents living near Manger Square, where the church is located, continue to live under curfew. The Israeli army has said it will continue its siege, which began April 3, until it captures about 30 men inside the church whom the army says are wanted as terrorists.

"Reached by telephone April 16, Franciscan Fr. Amjad Sabbara, parish priest at St. Catherine's Church, the Latin church that adjoins the 1,400-year, old Orthodox basilica enshrining Christ's birthplace, said the most serious problem for all those at the Church of the Nativity is water. The Nativity complex, which includes Catholic, Orthodox and Armenian monasteries in addition to the basilica, has one well. With some 250 more people now living there, water is running low. So far, the Israelis have permitted the delivery of a crate with 20 bottles of water, but no food. Sabbara reported that those inside the church are living on one meal a day.

"A youth who escaped from the Church of the Nativity April 15 provided a fuller picture of the squalid conditions inside the church. In an article printed in The New York Times April 17, 16-year-old Jihad Abdul Rahman said cold and the stench from rotting bodies and gangrenous wounds drove him from the church. There was no water for washing and only one toilet for the 250 Palestinians taking shelter inside the church, Rahman said.

"Dwindling supplies of food and water are not the only problems those inside the church are contending with. The Israeli army is exerting psychological pressure by blasting loud music and shrieking cries at night as well as intermittent demands to those inside the church to give themselves up.

"It's the Noriega technique," said Bethlehem resident Br. Kenneth Cardwell, referring to the tactics the U.S. government adopted in its efforts to dislodge former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega from the Vatican embassy in Panama City where he sought refuge in 1989. "They play really repulsive music very loudly."

"They broadcast loud commands to surrender in the middle of night. They explode huge explosive charges and then lesser flash-bangs I call them. We're a half-mile away and we wake up five, six times a night with this racket. There are blimps with a cable below. There's been a drone flying overhead all day today.

Yesterday colored gasses wafted across the square," Cardwell said. He added that a box dangling from a large crane the Israeli army has brought into or close by Manger Square "gave a laser light show the other night and that was pretty exciting."

"…all the computers of the Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem have been destroyed in what he called a deliberate attempt by the Israeli government to destroy the Palestinian economy and the Palestinian Authority.

Cardwell said, "We watch on TV the great support Israel is receiving from the Jewish people in the United States. If they only knew what this government is doing to the Palestinian people, they would repent in dust and ashes. American Jewry has a very high sense of moral responsibility for the widow, the stranger and the orphan, and they just are blind to what the Israeli government is doing." http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-86047196.html

LEARN MORE:

http://sabeel.org

Bethlehem Beseiged: Stories of Hope in Times of Trouble
by Mitri Raheb

http://www.annadwa.org/

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

World renowned theologian and expert on Christian Zionism, Dr. Reverend Stephen Sizer's 2007 CHRISTmas Sermon follows:

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Imprisoned you now lie.

Above thy deep and silent grief,

Surveillance drones now fly.

And through thy old streets standeth,

A huge illegal Wall.

The hopes and dreams that peace will come

Are dashed in this year’s Fall.

O morning stars together,

Look down upon this crime.

The people sing to God the King

But justice, who can find?

Yes, Christ was born of Mary,

God’s love remains supreme.

But mortals sleep as children weep,

Their pain is never seen.

How silently, how silently,

The world and Church protests.

As checkpoints grow and towns confined,

As settlers steal and rest.

No ear may hear the outcry,

As Israel’s Wall is built.

While meek souls muse, Apartheid rules -

We speak or share in guilt.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,

Give strength to us, we pray.

Cast out our fears and open eyes.

O give us voice today!

We stand against injustice,

The Occupation must end.

May justice rule our Lord’s birthplace,

May now Christ’s peace descend.

Did you find that adaptation of “O Little Town” by Stephen Leah unsettling or even shocking? Then it is probably because of the way Christmas was sentimentalized in the 19th Century. Many of our popular carols were written then. If people in the 19th Century sentimentalized Christmas, people in the 20th Century trivialised Christmas. Naïve romanticism led to cynical commercialism. What will happen to Christmas in the 21st Century is really up to you and me. This evening I want us to explore “The Dark Side of Christmas”. I want us to discover the raw, authentic, genuine, real, true Christmas - in Bethlehem then, Bethlehem now and Bethlehem here.

Christmas in Bethlehem: Then

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:5, 9-11) The Christmas story begins in darkness. Pitch darkness. Darkness comes in various forms.

There was first of all the darkness of occupation

The Roman occupation of Palestine was ruthless and unforgiving. The Israelites were terrorized into submission. They were a defeated nation. Palestine was occupied territory. Travelling from Nazareth to Bethlehem, even on the orders of the occupying power would be a long and dangerous journey, especially for a young pregnant woman. The roads were littered with the corpses of those who had resisted the occupation, hung from crosses for mile after mile as a warning to others. There would be roadblocks, checkpoints, spies, rebels, bandits. Mary and Joseph would have travelled with others for safety. The darkness of occupation.

There was also the darkness of exploitation

The Roman occupation was maintained by ruthless discipline and overwhelming force. The Romans were not prompted by altruism. The conquest led to the exploitation of the conquered. The developments which they fostered in agriculture, in mining, their grand irrigation schemes, their impressive new cities and seaports, aqueducts, roads and fortresses - were prompted by one single, all consuming goal. To maximize the revenue sucked from their empire. Heavy taxes were laid upon the Israelites. Huge levies on agricultural produce - to feed Rome’s appetite - and forced conscription of men to serve as slaves, seaman and soldiers - were ruthlessly enforced, impoverishing the people. The people paid dearly for their own colonisation. Indeed it was the despised Roman taxation system which brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem on that first Christmas night. The census declared by Caesar Augustus was intended to identify the value of his assets in Palestine and increase the revenue for his empire.
The darkness of occupation led to the darkness of exploitation.

There was also the darkness of disillusionment

That is why there was an ever-increasing number who felt that violence, not faith, was the most effective path of resistance. Where was the coming Messiah long promised by the prophets? Hence the rise of the zealots, the resistance movement of freedom fighters. There were the Sicarii (or dagger men), who were bent on liberating Palestine from occupation by violence. They assassinated fellow Jews who collaborated with Rome. On that first Christmas night, the mood in Bethlehem was one of despair, violence and resignation. There was darkness. The darkness of occupation, exploitation and disillusionment. Christmas in Bethlehem: Then

Christmas in Bethlehem: Now

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…” (John 1:5)

Let me introduce you to three Christian friends, relatives of Jesus living and working in Bethlehem. They are an endangered minority threatened with extinction. I’m going to let them speak to you about the meaning of Christmas.

First, my friend Wisam. Wisam Salsaa is a Tour Guide from Beit Sahour. Beit Sahour is literally the Shepherds Fields to the East of Bethlehem.

“We live in a hunting zone - The last 7-8 months have been the worst months in our lives. Before the new government took over, people were able to struggle and to eat; now everyone is tired, and some cannot find food to eat. People are so desperate... we are feeling our weakness, and the weakness of what they call justice in this world. Look at the new maps and the settlements - over five hundred thousand settlers are living in the West Bank so far – The wall is going around us, … a stranger may think it is a zoo or a national reserve – but it is not. Zoos or national reserves are protected. But we are not! The Israeli army attacks Bethlehem often to arrest or to kill! We live in a hunting Zone. Bethlehem is completely surrounded with settlements… The Israelis understand that very well, and now after completing the wall, they are able to manage the conflict for many years with very little effect on their own people, until they reach their goal. With all of what is happening in the world, talking about a real comprehensive peace in our region could seem like a dream… we are too far from this dream at the moment. But I have a dream to make peace with ourselves, with our neighbours and friends, to make Palestine a liveable place for Christians and Muslims despite all of the challenges. This is possible.”

Zoughbi is also a good friend. – Zoughbi is the Director of Wi’am Conflict Resolution Centre, Bethlehem.

He said this recently, "Bethlehem is going down, so we need compassionate listening because in hearing there is healing. We need prayers and exchange visits as the Palestinians are being collectively punished for their democratic choice. Our hope is in you - we see God in your faces, in your prayers, in your words. I shiver with hope when you come. In Bethlehem, we are hostages to fear and paranoia. Less than 0.05 per cent get permits for travel; consequently there is no freedom of movement and therefore no freedom of religion. Displacement of anger is increasing domestic violence and 80 per cent of children are showing signs of trauma. There are many psychological problems and not enough psychiatrists. Over 500 families have left Bethlehem in the last 5 years (i.e. 3,000 people) and Israeli fundamentalists are creating more and more settlements. We live in a pressure cooker, which is a recipe for transfer, i.e. conditions to make you leave if you can. In the long run the Israelis want the land without the people.

There were over eighty shops nearby most of which have now closed. The wall is squeezing everywhere and land is being taken. Banks are refusing to channel money and now we can only get money through Jordanian banks. We don’t get post in Bethlehem, or if we do it is severely interfered with. For instance, we had some Disney videos sent from the States for the children – they didn’t arrive for months; when they did arrive, only the boxes came and the videos were taken out. When we asked the reason, they said it was 'for security’. Israel worships the new Golden Cow of security, meanwhile the ethnic cleansing of a people is going on, and so in Bethlehem we will end up a museum. We call for the world, especially the Christian world to recognise its collective responsibility for Bethlehem and what is happening to the West Bank and Gaza. “Despite the difficulties in our lives, we will rejoice at the birth of Christ at Christmas. Taking our inspiration from the story in the Bible of Herod's massacre and the flight to Egypt of the Holy Family. The inspiration comes from knowing that despite being born into those dark days, amid the harsh Roman occupation, and despite the fear that must have gone with the family as they escaped to another country, Jesus did return and was able to spread his ministry of peace and love. We are living in a similar situation 2000 years later, behind the Apartheid Wall and under the harsh occupation, many Palestinians are escaping to other countries. But we are persevering and will celebrate Christmas with the message of hope and deliverance that Christ has planted in our hearts. We pray that through the miraculous birth of Christ we will see the Wall go and change into a bridge of understanding between the two peoples living here. Our prayer is that through mutuality, inclusivity, and reciprocity, the road to reconciliation will conquer all kinds of fears, paranoia, and injustices and the Holy Land will once again be the source of hope and light.” Zougbhi Zougbhi (Director of the Wi’am Conflict Resolution Centre, Bethlehem)

Finally, let me introduce you to my friend Naim. Naim Ateek is a Canon at St George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem. It is unlikely he will be in Bethlehem tonight. Born and raised in Jerusalem, like many other Christians in Palestine, he is nevertheless forbidden to travel the six miles to Bethlehem. He cannot celebrate the birth of Jesus at the Church of the Nativity because his country is under occupation. The road to Bethlehem is blocked by checkpoints, armed soldiers and the Separation Wall. Naim wrote this reflection last week, comparing the similarities between Bethlehem then and Bethlehem now.

“During this Christmas season as we reflect on the message of the angels, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace...” we can only understand it against the peace which Caesar gives. God’s formula for peace is juxtaposed with Pax Romana. For Caesar, peace is imposed by the might of empire. This is evident when occupied people are forced to give homage to Caesar, when they are coerced to pay taxes to Rome, and when they accept Rome’s sovereignty and unquestioned domination. It is against this kind of peace that the radical message of Christmas comes to us, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace...” Peace comes when the sovereignty of God is acknowledged rather than Caesar’s. For people living under occupation or oppression, Caesar has become a symbol of the evil that crushes and enslaves. The message of the angels stands for God’s kingdom. In the kingdom of God, glory and sovereignty belong to God and not to Caesar. God’s peace is not achieved by crushing and eliminating others but by embracing them. Caesar’s empire is built on violence and military might, God’s empire is built on justice and mercy. Caesar’s peace enslaves and humiliates, God’s peace liberates and restores dignity to the oppressed. Caesar builds walls to separate people, God tears down the walls of separation to join, unify, and reconcile them one with the other. Caesar’s peace is exclusive for a chosen few, God’s peace is inclusive for all regardless of their race or ethnicity. Ultimately, peace will come not from the Caesars and all those who trust in their military might and in the arrogance of their power but from the meek that put their trust in God.

It is the meek who will inherit the earth. Peace will come from the labour, toil, and hard work of all those who do not glory in their riches, or in their power, but glory in their love and service of God, and in their love and acceptance of others. God’s message of peace still rings true, not from Annapolis that represents empire, but from the small town of Bethlehem, Palestine that still suffers under occupation. The peace that the Caesars of the world give is largely false and deceptive, and it cannot last. Only the peace that God gives, the peace that is based on justice and truth will survive and prosper. May the New Year bring us closer to the peace we hope for; and let us continue the struggle together for the achievement of God’s peace for all the people of Palestine-Israel.”

Christmas in Bethlehem then. Christmas in Bethlehem now.

What about Christmas in Bethlehem: Here?

How are we to celebrate Christmas here? Now? Tonight? How, in the darkness that is just as pervasive today as it was that first Christmas? We may not suffer the darkness of occupation or exploitation. But there is around us the darkness of spiritual ignorance. There is the darkness of moral blindness. There is the darkness of malevolent evil. The darkness is real. But because of Christmas, it will never get so dark that we can't see the light. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…” (John 1:5)

Into the darkness, God sent an eternal light. As you walk home this evening, notice that the darkness does not intrude upon the light. No, it is the light that intrudes scattering the darkness. Light is always stronger than darkness.

And the forces of light are stronger than the forces of darkness. Tonight we have faced “The Dark Side of Christmas” in Bethlehem then and Bethlehem now. I said I wanted us to discover the raw, authentic, genuine, real, true message of Christmas. That’s what we find in John 1:11-14.

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:11-14)

The coming of the light of Christ divides people, as it cuts into the darkness.

We learn that some will Reject the Light of Christ – and they face the judgment of God
“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:11) Does this verse burden you? The presence of evil, of oppression and injustice in our world, won’t end tonight, however much we pray for peace on earth. Why? Because, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

Until Christ returns, our calling is to bring light into those parts of our world consumed with darkness. Our message to those who reject Jesus, and cause darkness, in love, must therefore be one of warning. Repent because judgment awaits them.“Whoever believes in him is not condemned. Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18). Some will reject the light – and face the judgment of God.

Some will Receive the Living Christ – and become children of God

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)

Does this verse assure you? Do you know that you are a child of God? If not, then become one tonight. The Son of God was born this night so that you might be born a child of God tonight. Repent of your sin, and receive him as your Lord and Saviour and have the assurance that you are a child of God. If you are not sure what that means, then join our Christianity Explored course starting Thursday 17th January. Some will reject the Light of Christ and face the judgment of God. Some will receive the Living Christ and become children of God.

Some will Rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ – and proclaim the glory of God

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:11-14)

Does this verse excite you? If you are a Christ follower, it will. This night of all nights we will sing of the glory of God.

No, we will not be discouraged by the darkness any more than our brothers and sisters in Bethlehem tonight. In Jesus Christ, we have found a life that overcomes death, a love that conquers hate, the truth that prevails over falsehood, and light, light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never, ever, overcome it.

Whether in Bethlehem then, Bethlehem now, or Bethlehem here. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…” (John 1:5)

Lets pray.

Stephen Sizer
Christ Church Vicarage
Callow Hill, Virginia Water, GU25 4LD

www.sizers.org

http://www.cc-vw.org/sermons/john1christmas.htm

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor of
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "KEEP HOPE ALIVE" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer of "30 Minutes with Vanunu"

A huge thank you for any and all who contributed to make the first year of the Bethlehem Christmas Project a success.

Israelis, Palestinians and American Christians delivered gifts to the most needy of the little children of Bethlehem.

The USA Project team members returned from the West Bank on December 16th- except for Stardust the Clown who spent a few more days on her own in occupied territory.

Several mainstream media interviews are scheduled between now and New Year's and the documentary is on its way.

Check it out:

http://bethlehemchristmasproject.info/

"The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with t