I agree that Samson's post is fine, but also agree with yreva's post, emphasizing that Jeff Halper's a man who definitely works for peace and justice. The latter should not be missed due to BBC being poor in quality, and often worse. As bad as BBC often is, that does not diminish the value of Halper's work and view. We should all be glad that he chose to join this group of activists and, in his case, to act against his country's or govt's military rule. Palestinians will surely appreciate his action, as well as that of the whole group he was with.

Sometimes we need to look at the individual trees, instead of the whole forest; whereas, and other times, we need to do the opposite. What kind of "tree" is Mr Halper; a royal Oak, perhaps? When I walk through a forest or woodland, some trees do stand out to me more than others. And the world needs to realise that Israel is not a society that's mono-culture; Mr Halper, among other activist Israelis, helps to make this reality clear and easy to see.

He's helping to make Israel's evil ways all the more evident for the people (worldwide, or in the West anyway) who refuse to see the truth about that govt and its military officers or commanders. And the more Israel punishes him, the clearer the picture should only be or become; not that I want him to be punished, for I certainly don't, but that it's the Israeli leadership's way (like it also is in the U.S., etc.). Part of that is being obviously [evil], [psychopathically!], and pretending (like psychopaths do) not to be; both being obvious, the evil and the pretense of being right and sane. I don't deny what's obvious and Israeli leadership's evil could hardly be more obvious than it is and has long been; just that a lot of people are more opaque than brick or granite, while also many (of them) lust for evil.

I like multi-culturalism, but not when it's to include [evil].

Jeff Halper is a great man. If you are unfamiliar with his work, a good place to start is in reading about the Projects and Campaigns of the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions (ICAHD), as well as the FAQs and Matrix of Control article.

http://icahd.org

"ICAHD is a non-violent, direct-action group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories... Members physically block bulldozers sent to demolish homes, and mobilize hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians to rebuild them as acts of resistance"

ICAHD has courageously rebuilt 108 of the over 18,000 homes destroyed since 1967. You can see pictures and read details of personal stories.

http://www.18000homes.org/

"Build houses, Build Peace"

Ah, so many things to say here in the CD Freedom cage on this short little article.

First, the BBC implies that Gaza was open before Hamas took control. In reality, Israel has long closed that coastline and for instance forbidden Gaza residents from fishing off their own coast. And certainly no sea-borne trade into Gaza has been allowed for sometimes. And it acts like the 'blockade' was something new in 2007 when in reality the Israelis had been 'closing' Gaza for sometimes long periods of time dating back to at least the 1990's.

And there's the minor matter that Hamas is the legally elected government. It was a USA-Israeli backed coup that they fought off and defeated in Gaza. Its more accurate to say that Hamas took power through democratic elections and fought off an US-Israeli attempt to seize the territory by force.

Israel of course claims they fear violence from the Palestinians. Then why would they need a 'decree' forbidding Israelis from traveling there. If they thought it was dangerous, I could understand a warning. But a decree forbidding travel?

And note very carefully how media like the BBC manages the miss the whole point of the protest. They report on details like Mr. Halper's detainment. But notice carefully that there is no quote anywhere in this article from the people on those two ships who sailed to Gaza about why they were doing this. That part of the story gets buried or ignored underneath some unsourced and unverifiable statements about what's happening in Gaza.

Its always interesting to scan an article and see who gets quoted. Usually it tells you a lot about who the reporter is talking to, and who they aren't. So take note that the only quote in the whole article is from an "Israeli police spokesman."
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"It is not if we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists will we be" -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

www.samsonsworld.blogspot.com