Palestine Update 592
Opinion
Peaceful Resistance Turns Military Might Into Weakness
Civil disobedience and general strikes by Palestinian laborers, boycotts, and mass peaceful demonstrations at check points and the borders would paralyze Israel
Excerpts from an article by James Zogby (The entire article is a must-read)
Can competing Palestinian leaderships, claim that the Palestinian Authority or Hamas or Islamic Jihad have a realistic strategic vision or that they propose steps that can lead to the implementation of that vision? In fact, the PA and Hamas have been reduced to dependencies, simply struggling to survive and maintain control over their fiefdoms. The PA president not only has no vision, but also doesn’t communicate or have power. Hamas, too, has played right into Israel’s hands. Their “strategy” has succeeded in providing Israel with the opportunity to separate Gaza from the rest of the Occupied Lands. Their so-called “deterrent power” is, at best, ineffectual and counterproductive in that it gives Israel the excuse to cruelly strangle and periodically deliver massive blows that take the lives of hundreds of innocents. And now with Hamas tamed, it has fallen to Islamic Jihad to foolishly think that random attacks and ineffective missiles can somehow bring about a change in the Palestinian situation.
What’s needed now is what always been needed: a realistic assessment of the Palestinian situation vis-à-vis the oppressive and aggressively acquisitive State of Israel and, based on this reality, the development of a strategic vision and the tactical steps to implement it. For this, I would turn to the heroic example of the strugglers in Palestinian and Israeli civil society, both in the occupied lands and in Israel itself. They are creating the movement for change that can translate the one-state reality into a democratic future for all. It won’t happen overnight or even in a few years, but if the so-called “leaderships” would discipline their forces and lend their support or, at the very least, get out of the way, the possibility of a mass non-violent struggle against the apartheid regime could bear fruit—as it did in varying degrees in South Africa, the US civil rights movement, and Northern Ireland.
Violence plays into Israel’s hands. Civil disobedience and general strikes by Palestinian laborers, boycotts, and mass peaceful demonstrations at check points and the borders would paralyze Israel. That’s the genius of peaceful resistance—it turns military might into a weakness and can turn worldwide public opinion into a powerful weapon for change.
Entire article can be found in “Common Dreams.org”
Marvel Studios comes under attack for promoting Israel’s brutality against and murder of Palestinians
Marvel Studios, an American film and television production company founded by an Israeli-American businessman, came under attack for promoting Israel’s brutal attacks on and murder of Palestinians. Marvel Studios announced that Captain America: New World Order will feature a character called Sabra, an Israeli police officer and spy for Mossad, the Israeli government agency responsible for killing and imprisoning thousands of Palestinians. “The character’s disturbing origin story centers on the death of a Palestinian child, employing a slew of racist, anti-Muslim stereotypes and dehumanizing depictions of Palestinians—all while glorifying Israeli military violence,” said the US-based Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), a non-profit organization.
“By glorifying the Israeli army and police, Marvel is promoting Israel’s violence against Palestinians and enabling the continued oppression of millions of Palestinians living under Israel’s authoritarian military rule,” it said. Marvel Studios is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios. It produces Marvel Cinematic Universe films, based on characters that appear in Marvel Comics publications. Its founder, chairman, and CEO is Avi Arad, an Israeli-American businessman and film producer.
Source
Israel: Shin Bet security agency warns of loss of control in occupied West Bank
The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, Ronen Bar, is the latest official to express concerns about the Palestinian Authority’s loss of control in the occupied West Bank, Bar warned about the security vacuum created in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.
Rising tension in the West Bank poses a major challenge for the apartheid state, which since the 1993 Oslo Accords has been able to maintain its domination and control over non-Jews relatively cost-free because of the PA. “We have entered a sort of closed circle,” Bar is reported as saying. “Our people are making arrests every night, and are coming under fire.” He added that “the price is also Palestinian casualties.” According to the Shin Bet chief, there have been more than 130 shooting incidents in the West Bank this year so far, compared with 98 in 2021.
Read more in Middle East Monitor
Israelis take note: Armed resistance to occupation is legal, not terrorism
It is doubtful if more than a handful of Jews in Israel could tell you accurately how many raids the Israeli army conducted last week in Palestinian cities in the West Bank, the number of arrests they made, or the number of people they killed. At the same time, it is doubtful if there were more than a handful of Israelis who had not heard of the shooting incident on a soldiers’ bus in the Jordan Valley, on Sunday 4 September.
The Israeli media has a key role in shaping public consciousness to serve the establishment’s propaganda machine, while keeping the Israeli public thoroughly ignorant of the most basic facts. The Israeli public, in general, has completely internalized the notion that, by definition, there is no legitimate Palestinian struggle for national liberation.
A Palestinian shooting at Israeli soldiers – as opposed to Israelis shooting at Palestinians – is not just an alarming “man bites dog” story that reverses the usual order, demanding extensive reports; in all of those reports, the event was defined as a terror attack and the Palestinian shooters as terrorists. Not a word about how the shooting targeted soldiers of an occupying army and occurred on occupied land. The Israeli public, in general, has completely internalized the notion that, by definition, there is no legitimate Palestinian struggle for national liberation.
As with the thorough erasure of the 1949 armistice line, also known as the Green Line, from Israeli consciousness – to the point that the mere mention of its existence by the Tel Aviv municipality provokes threats from the Ministry of Education – so too the consistent labeling of any Palestinian struggle as terrorism obscures the important distinction under international law between an action targeting combatants and one directed against civilians.
Read more in Middle East Eye
German broadcaster requires employees to ‘support Israel’s right to exist’
Deutsche Welle’s new code of conduct marks the latest Israel-related crackdown on free speech in German public life.
“On Sept. 1, Germany’s international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW) updated its Code of Conduct to require all employees, when speaking either on behalf of the organization or in a personal capacity, to “support the right of Israel to exist” or face consequences, such as dismissal…The release of the new Code of Conduct follows a months-long investigation that led to the firing of seven Palestinian and Arab journalists earlier this year, after they were accused of antisemitism. A +972 report found that DW’s investigation was politically motivated and focused on scapegoating Arab and particularly Palestinian journalists, creating an environment of fear, distrust, and strict self-censorship when it comes to Israel-Palestine.” Germany’s international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW) updated its Code of Conduct to require all employees, when speaking either on behalf of the organization or in a personal capacity, to “support the right of Israel to exist” or face consequences, such as dismissal…The release of the new Code of Conduct follows a months-long investigation that led to the firing of seven Palestinian and Arab journalists earlier this year, after they were accused of antisemitism. A +972 report found that DW’s investigation was politically motivated and focused on scapegoating Arab and particularly Palestinian journalists, creating an environment of fear, distrust, and strict self-censorship when it comes to Israel-Palestine.”
Read more in 972 Mag
