UN Says “Anti-Zionism NOT Anti-Semitism”

Anti-Zionism Is Not Anti-Semitism, Stipulates UN Organization, EAFORD

THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (EAFORD)

Item 7. Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories

To expose Israel’s human rights abuses and attacks on Gaza is not anti-Jewish; criticism based on mountains of reports of human rights violations are not directed at Jews anywhere, but at the policies of the State of Israel.

The international community can and should abhor the slaughter of Palestinian women and children without being labeled anti-Semitic.

Zionism is a political movement, not a religion; it is a colonialist, racist, ideology of conquest, oppression, subjugation and control.

Zionism is Israel’s official ideology and to oppose the discriminatory policies of this apartheid state is not racist. Israel is one thing, Judaism another: to confront one is not to be in opposition of the other, they are separate.

Jews can be anti-Zionists, and anti-Semites can be staunch Zionists. Some of the most adamant supporters of Zionist ideology are not Jews, but some fundamentalist Christians. This agenda item does not report on a religion but on a State’s discriminatory policies towards a people who are Semitic too!

Occupation is not about religion: It is a nation’s policy of aggression; its use of disproportionate force, and collective punishment.

When the atrocities committed on the people of Palestine are condemned, Zionists call it anti-Semitism, which is a concocted myth. It is simply a ploy to “dismiss all criticism, no matter how legitimate, as rooted in prejudice and therefore without any validity.” (Cohen)

Equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism poisons any resolution; let it not deter us from our pursuit, the real goal which must prevail: truth and justice.

Thank you Mr. President.

EAFORD

24 March 2009

listen to audio HERE

British MP Calls For Israeli War Crimes Investigation & Halt of UK Arms Trade

Another British MP calling for inquiry into Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Additionally he is calling for a halt to UK arms to Israel. Wonder if Canada, at the behest of their Jewish Lobby, will brand him as a “terrorist” as well.

Pendle MP in call for Gaza inquiry

PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice is calling for an independent inquiry into allegations of war crimes during the Israeli assault on Gaza.

Following the conflict in December and January, Mr Prentice has called for an immediate halt to UK arms exports to Israel.

He said: “What happened in Gaza should concern us all.

“The attack was a wholly disproportionate response to the rockets fired into southern Israel.”

Mr Prentice is supporting the Commons motion tabled by Martin Linton MP last week.

it’s all gathering ground, week by week, the world is coming for you Israel. We won’t forget the genocide you committed in Gaza, you are war criminals and Will be charged as such FINALLY!

Gaza Doctor Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

NOMINATED: Dr. Abu al-Aish, who lost three daughters when Israel murdered them while he was on the phone doing an interview with an Isareli news program!! I remember watching this on television, in utter shock and disbelief. I cried for hours, then days. What I will never forget as long as I live, was the outrageous Israeli’s who came down during the interview and shouted at this poor man “What were you hiding in your house” and “The army had a reason to shoot at your house” and many more disgusting insults. Not one of them, not one single one of them, could have the decency to leave the man alone after having just lost so many of his children, or even for one second entertain the thought that they were innocent!! No, Israeli’s have no compassion, all Palestinians are terrorists, all deserve to die, this is exactly why the IDF had those t-shirts made. Israel is a rogue state filled with racists and murderers, no human beings live there any more, only serial killers of Palestinians. I Hope he wins the Nobel Peace Prize, but what I really hope is that some BRAVE Hollywood director has the balls to make a big production movie about this man’s life and what happened to him, So that all of America can see how evil Israel is. Anyone brave enough? I wonder!

Gazan doctor nominated for Nobel

Dr. Abu al-Aish, who lost three daughters to fighting in Gaza, receives news of candidacy for peace prize. ‘This prize will make my tragedy into something positive,’ he says

Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, a Gazan doctor who lost his three daughters to IDF fire during Israel’s offensive in the Strip, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, Ynet learned Sunday

Abu al-Aish received a letter from the Nobel Committee officially declaring him a nominee for the prestigious award.

“I received the news at the end of a meeting with the president of the European parliament while I was visiting Belgium, where I was made an honorary citizen,” he said in a telephone conversation from Canada.

“I wouldn’t call my first response joy, personally it is not joyous, but it does encourage me to hope for the two people. This prize will make my tragedy into something positive for the human race. It is a victory for intelligence, a victory for hope for positive change for our two people.”

The doctor said he would dedicate the prize to the simple people on both sides, Israeli and Palestinian, in the event that he won.

Abu al-Aish, who works at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, said he had already received praise for his candidacy. “The first to call me was Minister Avishai Braverman. He congratulated me and said I represent us all,” he said.

The physician promised the nomination would not alter his way of life. “I will continue on my path. It may give me more responsibility but it won’t change my faith,” he said.

“Winning the prize will be a direct continuation of my activities in favor of a life of peace between two people… The fact that a simple man such as myself is nominated for such a prize only shows that nothing is impossible. The only impossible thing is my daughters’ return.”

When asked whether he might consider relinquishing medicine in order to enter politics Abu al-Aish said, “Where I find a way to change and help – that’s where I will be. I am willing to sacrifice my private time for this goal, but right now I want to save lives. Medicine brings people together, saves souls, and cures wounds, and this is what we need now.”

LIBEL SUIT~Leading British Muslim Sues Government

Blears is an asshat pro-Israeli eejit and a disgrace to Britain. For those not aware of the background on this you can read a snippit of the background report then the most recent development of the lawsuit by Dr. Abdullah against Blears. Amazingly enough, She has even managed to anger a Zionist who has debated with Dr. Abdullah on television many times. Even HE thinks she’s a nutter!

The extraordinary action taken against the Muslim Council of Britain by communities minister Hazel Blears has rightly aroused widespread condemnation.

As Brian Whitaker has already pointed out, Blears’s 13 March letter to the MCB, suspending “engagement” with it pending the outcome of its investigation into the conduct of its deputy general secretary, Daud Abdullah, amounts to a piece of quite unwarranted Whitehall interference in the internal working of an independent body operating entirely legally in this country. In principle, whom the MCB chooses as its office-holders is none of Blears’s business. The very unfortunate precedent she is trying to set reflects the practices of a totalitarian state – China perhaps, or Zimbabwe. I am shocked that such a mindset could emerge in the UK.

But I am also deeply upset as a democrat, a Jew and a Zionist – and as a passionate believer in freedom of expression who has debated publicly with Abdullah (through Press TV) on two occasions. BACKGROUND SOURCE

LATEST UPDATE BELOW:

Hazel Blears faces libel action for attack on leading Muslim

A leader of Britain’s largest Muslim organisation is threatening to sue Hazel Blears, the secretary of state for communities, after she accused him of calling for violence against Jewish communities and British troops.

In what is being described by members of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) as a crisis in relations between the Muslim community and the government, lawyers acting for its deputy secretary general have accused Blears of adopting “an extraordinary and malicious interpretation” of a declaration he signed this year.

The standoff originated last week when Blears demanded the resignation of Dr Daud Abdullah following his participation in the global anti-aggression conference in Istanbul, stating that the declaration “calls for violence against troops and Jewish communities”.

Abdullah rejected the claims, repeated by Blears on several occasions, including in a letter to the Guardian, stating that they were “entirely untrue”.
Abdullah said: “I do not advocate attacks on any religious community. Both I and the MCB have done everything possible to de-escalate the crisis … we have explained all our concerns and have met with parliamentarians to move on. But the government has tried to publicly humiliate me … I felt obliged to defend myself in a legal manner against these serious and defamatory allegations.”

Blears’s statement has sparked outrage across the religious and political divide, while a letter in the Guardian last week, signed by figures including Ken Livingstone and Tony Benn, urged the government to “end its attack on Dr Abdullah and reinstate its relations with the MCB”.

Abdullah’s lawyers have told Blears that unless she issues a retraction and apology by 15 April they will issue proceedings for libel.

Obama May Allow Iran’s Nuclear Ambition to Continue

And why not? They have the right to develop Nuclear energy just like everyone else does.

Bush had such hypocrisy attacking Iran for refusing to comply with UN resolutions on the development of its nuclear program while never mentioning Israel already has nuclear weapons and refuses to bring them under international control or scrutiny.

US may cede to Iran’s nuclear ambition

US officials are considering whether to accept Iran’s pursuit of uranium enrichment, which has been outlawed by the United Nations and remains at the heart of fears that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

As part of a policy review commissioned by President Barack Obama, diplomats are discussing whether the US will eventually have to accept Iran’s insistence on carrying out the process, which can produce both nuclear fuel and weapons- grade material.

“There’s a fundamental impasse between the western demand for no enrichment and the Iranian demand to continue enrichment,” says Mark Fitzpatrick, a former state department expert now at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “There’s no obvious compromise between those two positions.”

The US has insisted that Iran stop enrichment, although Mr Fitzpatrick notes that international offers put to Tehran during George W. Bush’s second term as president left the door open to the possible resumption of enrichment.

“There is a growing recognition in [Washington] that the zero [enrichment] solution, though still favoured, simply is unfeasible,” says Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council. “The US may still have zero as its opening position, while recognising it may not be where things stand at the end of a potential agreement.”

Yesterday, Mr Obama summarised the US message to Iran as, “Don’t develop a nuclear weapon” – a form of words that would not rule out a deal accepting Iranian enrichment. Mr Bush was much more specific in calling Iran to halt enrichment.

Asked last month whether the administration was considering allowing Iran to keep a limited enrichment capability, Robert Wood, a state department spokesman, said: “I don’t know . . . Let’s let the review be completed and then we can spell out our policies.”

Some analysts say priority should be given to winning greater access for UN inspectors, to acquire more information about Iran’s enrichment plant in Natanz and fill in gaps in knowledge on Iran’s nuclear-related activities across the country. That could provide warning of any move to enrich uranium to weapons grade levels at Natanz and ease fears of clandestine facilities.

Privately both US and Israeli officials say that even the current, more limited inspection regime at Natanz would provide sufficient warning of any “breakout” towards a nuclear bomb. Outside Natanz, by contrast, information on Iran’s programme is diminishing.

The US line that Iran is seeking the capability to develop nuclear weapons – but not necessarily such weapons themselves – contrasts with Mr Bush’s insistence while in office that it sought nuclear weapons.

Iranian regime insiders have said they would expect a compromise by the US on enrichment to be reciprocated.

Israel & Palestine Peace Talks?

Not sure if this is accurate, but worth mentioning anyway.

The London-based Al Sharq Al Awsat (Middle East) newspaper reported Saturday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are set to resume peace talk by the end of this month.
The paper added that the new Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party, is planning to visit Cairo in preparation for the talks.

Yet, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Husam Zaki, said that he is unaware of the alleged preparations for Netanyahu’s visit to his country.

This report comes while the new Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, of the extremist Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) Party stated on Wednesday that Israel is not bound by its commitment to the 2007 Annapolis Conference in Maryland, USA.

Lieberman, one of the biggest advocated for settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank, said that Israel should not commit to the signed peace deals. MORE

Gazan Injured_Three Boats Damaged by Israel off Gaza Coast

Well, you know they can’t allow Gaza fisherman to catch fish for food, gotta keep starving people. Israel most likely will claim the fish were members of Hamas so they had to fire on the boats!

Fisherman injured, three boats damaged by Israeli fire on Gaza coast

Gaza – Ma’an – A Palestinian fisherman was injured and three boats were damaged Friday morning after Israeli warships opened fire on the coastal areas near Rafah and As-Sudaniyah.

Head of Emergency and Ambulance Services in the Gaza Strip Dr Muawiyah Hassanein said the man was lightly injured.

Israeli warships stationed along the Gaza coast have continually attacked fishermen earning their livelihoods in the north, south and central areas.

Another report HERE