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International Movements Breaking the Siege on Gaza
Since June 2007 the Israeli government has imposed almost complete closure over the Gaza Strip. The siege prevents nearly all movement of people or goods to and from the coastal region with only minimal amounts of humanitarian provisions inconsistently allowed in. With the exception of a small amount of carnations allowed out earlier this year, there has been a virtual ban on all exports from Gaza since 2007. [1] A quick socio-economic glimpse of Gaza includes agricultural losses totaling US $30 million and more than 40,000 jobs for the 2007/2008 season, the suspension of 98% of industrial operations, and more than 80% of Gaza's population is now dependent on humanitarian aid from international aid providing agencies. [2]
Closure of Gaza and the West Bank has intermittently been imposed since 1991. While Israel prevents movement and access in the name of temporary security measures, the regularity and extent of these mechanisms, particularly since the Oslo process, represents an institutionalized policy of closure. Israel's current siege on Gaza reflects an unprecedented and severe application of the closure policy. In the past year internationals have tried to break the siege on Gaza by bringing critical medical supplies and other humanitarian goods into Gaza.
While the world's most powerful and influential states stand back and watch the complete collapse of Gaza's economy and livelihood of its population, citizens around the world are joining Palestinians in various forms to break the siege on Gaza.
In August 2008 the Free Gaza Movement sent the first boat into the Gaza port in 41 years. Since the first boat set sail, the Free Gaza Movement has sent seven more boats to Gaza with vital supplies, medical staff, journalists, and prominent individuals such as Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of Tony Blair, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan, Palestinian Legislative Council member Mustafa Barghouti, and Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire. The Free Gaza Movement plans to send more boats to Gaza in the future.
For over 30 days the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border has maintained a persistent presence on the border of Egypt and Gaza to demand an opening of the border and end to the siege. They call on any person or group to join them "until the definitive opening of the border between Gaza and Egypt."
Viva Palestina is an aid convoy initiated by UK Member of Parliament George Galloway. In March of this year Viva Palestina took over 100 vehicles filled with humanitarian supplies from the UK to Gaza. Galloway and Vietnam veteran and peace campaigner Ron Kovic recently organized a US-led Viva Palestina convoy. The convoy entered Gaza through Rafah Crossing with 200 Americans including former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and New York Councilmember Charles Barron. Viva Palestina is planning another convoy from the UK in October 2009.
After a successful delegation in March that coincided with International Women's day, Code Pink organized two delegations to Gaza earlier this summer - one through Rafah Crossing in the south and one through Erez Crossing in the north that brought vital supplies to the people of Gaza.
The Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza, coordinated by Norman Finklestein and other leading academics/activists, is organizing a March on Gaza for January 1, 2010. According to a website promoting the march, "when nations fail to enforce the law, when the world's leaders break the law, the people must act!"
In addition to the larger acts of international popular resistance against the Israeli siege on Gaza, there are a host of smaller initiatives lead by Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals that work in tandem to these efforts.
Total success of any one group has been difficult, given the immense amount of opposition from the Israeli and Egyptian governments (and the powerful states that support them). Members of each group have suffered in various ways from bureaucratic hurdles, arrest, detention, deportation, etc. as the Egyptian and Israeli states hope to suppress and otherwise intimidate peoples of conscious. While breaking the siege on Gaza requires more than delivering humanitarian aid, collectively the international popular movements represent a very real threat to Israel's closure policy.
The longer the siege lasts, the larger the popular resistance to it appears to become. Over two years after its implementation, the movements to end the siege are larger and stronger than ever before. What is clear by all these acts of popular resistance is that people of the world are prepared to do what states are either unwilling or too inept to do - break the siege on Gaza!
1. PALTRADE, "Gaza Strip Crossings Monitoring Report," Monthly Report (June 2009).
2. World Bank, "Moving Beyond the ‘Movement and Access' Approach" West Bank and Gaza Update (October 2008), 15 and OCHA Special Focus, "The Closure of the Gaza Strip: The Economic and Humanitarian Consequences" (December 2007).
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6 Comments so far
Show AllIsrael, especially since its recent military actions in Gaza and its continuing blockade of assistance for the Palestinian populace, is losing the global public relations war so badly that even its evangelical support is eroding. Israelis themselves are well aware of the fact and some of the recent Hasbara tactics in the U.S. and elsewhere are beginning to look quite a lot like desperation.
Personally, I'd have to admit falling for much of the pro-Israel "making the desert bloom" propaganda in the early days. But the Zionists have since persuaded me to change my mind completely.
I think the rest of the world could try out this "closure policy" on Israel. The country is very dependent on oil and other resources, so the zionist regime could fall faster than the apartheid regime did in South Africa.
The stranglehold that the Israeli/Jewish lobby has on Washington permits the ongoing atrocity that Gaza and Palestine has to endure. It is amazing that a relatively tiny portion of the U.S. population is able to keep such injustice from being addressed in any meaningful way.
During the diaspora Jewish business practices caused much resentment among the populations of the countries in which they lived. The resulting pogroms created an enduring legacy of victimhood. Yet, the state of Israel has shown that Jews do not have a monopoly on suffering. Israel has unlimited resources in taking whatever it wants in the Middle East. It has its fingers in the American taxpayers pockets, plus the vast wealth of Jews throughout the world has allowed Israel to make the desert bloom.
The economic and cultural success of Israel has not, however, come about from any inherent virtue or some supernatural hook-up with the creative force of the universe. It has come on the backs of the indigenous people of Palestine.
Israel had a chance to let its economic advantage lift up all the people in region. But they, instead, reverted to greed and racism to raise Israel up at the expense of non-jewish people around them, thus running the risk of perpetuating the unfortunate stereotype that had been created in the many cultures in which they operated since the Romans scattered them a couple of thousand years ago.
The only question, for me, is wether Washington will put up with any and all aggression Israel initiates. Iran must develop nuclear weapons to help change the balance of power in the Middle East. The Bush War against Iraq has helped bring a measure of unity among the Muslims but it remains to be seen if the rising Shia can solidify the measure of equality that resulted from his destroying the Iraqi social system.
Israel's attack on Iran should help unite the region even more but it remains to seen if the U.S. will be able to position itself into some kind of broker status. Obama is smart enough to understand that all out support of Israel will only strengthen Iran's position in the region, but given the stranglehold that AIPAC has on Washington it may not be possible to get any daylight between the U.S. and Israel. Certainly his Secretary of State is only slightly more reasonable than Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) from Connecticut.
The question is can Israel create enough hate in the Middle East to overcome the natural divisions that have been so successfully exploited by the West for so many centuries?
Israel has shown that it has no interest in principles of equality and justice, except as these apply to them. Jews in the U.S. have been at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement, yet very little of this attitude has permeated Israeli policy.
The U.S. and Israel against the world has long been the Zionist mantra. Yet, the world united by enough hate of the Jews and Israel, can bring a lethal amount of power to bear. Revolution can change the picture dramatically. Oil can be used as a weapon. Israel only continues to exist because of an increasingly delicate status quo.
Right now, Israel has can do whatever it wants to do, and continue its hateful racist ways. However, one would think building up hatred would be something the Jews would try to avoid. The Roman Empire did not take kindly to the chosen people attitude. And, it is not difficult to imagine that Israel may have another attitude adjustment coming.
"The question is can Israel create enough hate in the Middle East to overcome the natural divisions that have been so successfully exploited by the West for so many centuries?"
That is indeed the question. If not, it's certainly not due to any lack of Israeli effort.
In fact, I think they've already been quite successful at the popular level, perhaps even between Arabs and Persians. I suppose the answer to the question may depend largely on the power of popular sentiments versus currently governing constraints under imperial "guidance."
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of Israel's Shas Party, has called US President Barack Obama
"a slave" who seeks to rule the world and control Tel Aviv's affairs.
The US government is "slavishly" supporting this monstrous Israeli genocide of Palestineans.
We all know what has to be done
the following is a way to accomplish it.
Good Morning Kindred Spirits, (for those of you that are not Kindred Spirits ((if any exist)) and would like to become one, the door is always open.
A Kindred Spirit is Love ,Compassion, Justice.
Those of you that posted a comment to this article should go to this previous article (many of you have been there).
article appears in commondreams.org
Title of article: “When Will The Recovery Begin ? Never.
Author: Robert Reich
dated : Friday July 10 2009
In my opinion Mr. Reich’s article describes the existing economic reality.
Sioux Rose, did you miss this article ?
Citizen Central is no longer inert, the momentum has begun.
Here are some answers to the comments directed to Citizen Central by posters (I am not aware of all of them sorry).
yours truly’s post July 11 2009 to Mr. Reich’s article is the approach Citizen Central is taking.
Is Citizen Central a forum? No Citizen Central is a direction action citizens lobby.
Will Citizen Central be a web creation? That would be great if C.C. manifests through the internet.
Why don’t you just create a web site or have someone do it ?. That’s a great idea , we need a web site, I don’t know how to do it, nor do I have the resources. That has to come from one of you .I can explain what the web site needs to do.
C.C. needs an administrator, who’s going to be the administrator, you? No the site will need an administrator, one of you.
Who will design the site, and choose the topics for consideration, you ? As of today I am the project manager, if someone wants to be project manager,
make your case. I am the current project manager someone had to do it, the way C.C. works, the members choose a project manager. When C.C. is created if a new project manager is desired we get one . There are no ego’s involved here.
What is the objective of c.c. ? Okay, within our current political system the only way to manifest our collective desires is to have the numbers.
Congress, the senate and the administration is elected by us the citizens. What we need is a majority of votes in each congresspersons, and senators district. That’s what c.c. does, bring together all the like-minded citizens ,but instead of electing a person to represent us, we elect a person to create laws and policy that we the citizens want . If they do not want to do the citizens business then we have an immediate recall and replace that person with a person that will.
If the elected official always did what the majority wanted then there would be no civil rights etc. I understand your point . However considering the situation at hand ,our elected officials are not representing our best interests, we have to change that , THE ONLY WAY TO CHANGE THAT WITHIN OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM IS TO HAVE A MAJORITY OF VOTERS IN EACH DISTRICT.
What we need right now is a way for the people interested in c.c.to be able to communicate with each other. I am going to post c.c. activity in the post section of the first article that appears on commondreams each day . Hopefully we can come up with an alternative soon.
Sioux Rose , you had mentioned that the administrator of commondreams might help us out, any way of checking on that.
Later on today :
We need to get a web site operational .Until that’s done we are limited.
We need to get every progressive site on board, as well as the general population.
If this statistic is correct , forty percent of American citizens are functionally illiterate, we need to energize that segment of society, by appealing to individuals that these people might trust for their endorsement i.e. actors, athletes, members of specific ethnic groups, religious leaders etc.
Once the opposition becomes aware of c.c. it will definitely turn into a numbers game. Mainstream media will not be very helpful to our cause, the internet and a field organization is probably the most effective way to go.
See you later today.