Holocaust

NOUN

Destruction or slaughter on a mass scale

Don’t use the name Hitler! That’s what some write to me. Don’t use the word Holocaust! Don’t use the word Genocide! You should understand history! They argue.

My words, my columns seem to hurt some people more than what is happening in Gaza. That is staggering. It really shows what evil is. What ignorance is. I ask them what words? What adjectives? What analogy they would like me to use to describe child murders? What words would be more soothing to them?
[Video of Chris Hedges talking about the situation in Gaza and beyond]

The numbers don’t lie: over 1,800 Palestinians dead as of this writing. This is the equivalent, population wise, to over 250,000 American deaths. 84 percent are civilians. Hundreds are children. 62 Israelis dead. Over 90 percent soldiers. This isn’t a fair fight. Millions more in funding just went to Israel from the USA. There is a game that Bibi apologists like to play. They will bring up something that happened 40 years ago or something that is happening in another part of the word, or use terms like “Anti-Semitic” or “Anti-Israel” in order to try and negate or excuse what is happening right now. To place the blame on words rather than deeds.

So OK enough words. We have seen such horrific images of the Holocaust. Truly disgusting deeds done by Hitler and the Nazi’s. These images are out there under the heading of “never forget.”

Here are some of those images so that we indeed never forget. Alongside them are images of what is happening right now in Gaza. Compare the images. Compare the deeds. Tell me how one is justified while the other is an abomination.

OK enough words…

Never forget? Seems as though many people have already forgotten.

The post Gaza is Indeed a Holocaust appeared first on Madness & Reality.

The “column” written by Yochanan Gordon, a frequent contributor to the publication, concludes that “If political leaders and military experts determine that the only way to achieve its goal of sustaining quiet is through genocide is it then permissible to achieve those responsible goals?” Mr. Gordon doesn’t seem to have the mental capacity to comprehend what he is saying. Wasn’t it Hitler who believed that wiping out Jews would lead to “quiet and a better society?” Therefore he had every right to commit those atrocities? Really?

But you probably haven’t heard about this anyway. I’m sure you would have heard about it if a writer in Palestine had written something titled “Why Israel must be wiped out.” No. I’m SURE you would have heard about it.

That scribbling wasn’t the worst thing that happened today. Believe it or not. Well the worst thing is that at least 100 more Palestinians were killed…mostly civilians. You have probably heard something about that but I’m certain you heard that ONE Israeli soldier was “abducted.” Yes this you have heard. That ONE soldier in an army that is in a war was taken by the opposing side. This you have heard about. This is NOT a war crime, it happens all the time in war. But this is what has led the news reports, not the column calling for genocide of Palestinians, not that 100 more people in Gaza were killed. Killing civilians and children in schools and hospitals is indeed a war crime.

You have also probably not heard that the U.S. Senate has approved more funds be sent to Israel to help in their efforts to kill more civilians and children. I hate to hang this on Obama because let’s be honest, EVERY American President has supported Israel almost without conscience or question. It’s just the way it is, has always been and probably will always be. Obama is no different. When Israel is responsible for the murders of children they get a slap on the wrist. “Please show restraint” the American President says. When ONE Israeli soldier is abducted it’s automatically a good reason to send more money their way to “protect and defend” themselves. It passed the House by a vote of 395-8!

If Obama is reading this he is nodding his head and saying something like “I know man but what else can I do?” He knows the score, he knows where the money is and who it comes from and that money is power and might makes right. Just the way it works. So the USA continues to fund terrorism. To fund this man.

When Russia and Putin step foot in the Ukraine all hell breaks loose and economic sanctions are swift and hard hitting. When Israel kills children and is in the process of genocide, they get even more money to help them along.

Anyone else disgusted at being an American right now?

The post USA FUNDING TERRORISM IS NOT PERMISSIBLE appeared first on Madness & Reality.

I really, really, really hate writing about the ongoing, never-ending, never will end, “crisis” in the Middle East. We have so many problems here at home that need fixing yet we, or should I say they (the mainstream media) push those troubles aside whenever something violent happens in that area of the world cause… well… violence gets dicks hard I guess.

This is also the reason why the murders on both sides of the conflict will continue. Both sides are excited by the bloodshed. Both sides cheer when little children on the opposing side are killed. They all love it now. They love the violence and the retribution and the killings. They all get off on it now: the rebels, the establishment, the politicians, and the suicide bombers … all of them. It’s a cycle they have grown used to and it’s why the USA should have no involvement at all. None. Zero.

OK I got that out of my system. The issue now is with NBC news and their removal of a pretty good reporter, Ayman Mohyeldin, from the Gaza strip. Mohyeldin had reported on the killing of four young boys who were playing on the beach by the Israeli military. He said he had just been playing with these boys shortly before they were murdered. Yes they were MURDERED, not merely KILLED.

NBC claims he was pulled because of “security concerns” but that doesn’t jibe because they soon placed Richard Engel into the same position. Also these reporters are constantly in harms way, every single minute of every single day, so it’s obvious NBC is lying. The question is why? Why pull Mohyeldin? And why lie about it?

It’s no secret that there are many Jews in this country who are, for some strange reason, blindly sympathetic to Israel. Some of them have been to Israel but most of them have not. I’m always confused as to why they care so much. And if so why not relocate to Israel and join the fight? I’m half Jewish and half Italian. Yes I know I’m combining a religion with a nationality but that’s how we do it in New York so get over it. Many Jews consider me to be totally Jewish since it’s my mother’s side that is Jewish; however I have no connection to Israel at all, never been there. I have been to Italy just once. If Italy were to get into a conflict with a neighboring country I would have no vested interest in it at all. I would choose to look at it from a totally objective point of view. Mostly I just hate war and conflict and would hope it would all end quickly.

The problem we have in this country is that too many people see the Israel-Palestine conflict from an extremely biased point of view. They overwhelmingly support Israel. That is simply a fact. It’s also a fact that there are more Jews in important positions of power in our mainstream media than Palestinians, and No this isn’t a stupid anti-Semitic “Jews run the world” paranoid rant, it’s simply fact. Therefore it’s obvious that some of those people and those who might answer to them don’t like it when Israelis are shown in a negative light. They will give the Palestinians some sympathy but just enough to try and keep people like myself off their backs, their hearts really aren’t in it.

Oh I really hate writing about this shit. I know liberals are mixed on this issue. Maybe some of you have been wondering what my beliefs were. But now we have this chicken shit move by NBC news. They have been known to slant to the left but that didn’t matter in this case. In these matters it rarely does. There are people with money who live in this country who don’t want to see Israelis look like murderers. But some of them ARE murderers as are some Palestinians. I have always seen the Israelis as the big rich bullies with the expensive weapons and the Palestinians as the kids who are fighting back anyway they can. Sometimes their ways are horrific and grotesque. Both sides see little reason to come to an agreement because the killing and the revenge and the never ending cycle of this shit seems so normal and feels so right to them now.

What we CAN control in this country is how we cover this conflict. What NBC did was just simply wrong just as it would be wrong to pull a reporter for covering the Palestinians killing Israeli children. That hasn’t happened though, has it?

This is why the mainstream media in the USA sucks. Money as with everything else in this Capitalism on steroids society, rules all. It trumps good reporting, it trumps fair reporting, it trumps right over wrong. This is why we can’t get “fair and balanced” news anymore. There is always an executive who is shitting in his or her pants over that one call they might get from a rich, angry advertiser.

So Ayman Mohyeldin gets pulled from doing his job. A job he does well.

NBC news should be ashamed.

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Recently, Al Jazeera reported on the cruel abuse of Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia. The article states that:

Facing limited job prospects and harsh economic realities back home, large numbers of Ethiopian men and women head to the oil- and gas-rich Arabian peninsula every year seeking work.

The International Labour Organisation said many face physical and mental abuse, menial pay, discrimination and poor working conditions, and the Ethiopian government announced last month it was banning domestic workers from travelling to the Middle East to look for jobs after widespread reports of mistreatment.

Ethiopian Migrant in Saudi Arabia

Like Abdullah, Abdurahman Kamal said he too was beaten before being jailed for ten days. His employer revoked his salary and his visa before handing him over to the authorities, he says.

“The police asked for money but at that time I didn’t have the money, so the police beat me,” said Abdurahman, 21, who worked as a driver.

Now he says he is relieved to be home after three years in Saudi Arabia.

“I get to go back to my family,” he said, wearing a torn shirt that revealed his scarred torso.

Check out the video below for a graphic example of how our Ethiopian brothers and sisters are treated in Saudi Arabia. If you do not have a YouTube account, you should open one so that you can witness the Saudis commit brutal and barbaric crimes against Ethiopians migrants.

The cabinet on Sunday approved an amendment to a controversial bill that would allow the detention of migrants who have entered Israel illegally for up to a year without trial in closed-door detention centers, and for a much longer period in other, more open, facilities.

The amendment was part of the so-called “infiltrator law,” which was sponsored by Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar and approved by 12 ministers, with two abstaining.

An earlier version of the bill, which called for keeping migrants in closed detention centers for up to three years without trial, was struck down by the High Court of Justice in September as unconstitutional. The court also gave the government 90 days to either bring to trial or release all those being held under the overturned amendment.

Under the revised version of the bill that was approved on Sunday, authorities will be able to keep migrants in open detention centers for up to three years without trial proceedings. The open-door facilities require the inhabitants to return every night and attend three head counts at the center during the day. Migrants can be held in closed-door facilities for up to one year.

Check out the news report below regarding racism against African immigrants in Israel. Despite their religious, cultural and political differences, Saudi Arabia and Israel agree one thing.  Both countries treat Africans like trash.

Africans worldwide and all people of goodwill must unite.  We must stand up and make our voices heard. Please sign the petition below.

Petition to stop violence against Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia.

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I posted a video a few days ago that in the Jewish state of Israel, the racism against African immigrants has reached violent proportions. Israeli citizens vocally and physically expressed their disdain for the African community and for Africans who continue to enter their borders for asylum from their native homelands conflicts. They hoped to live in a land where they would find peace and prosperity. So, they’ve turned to Israel whose image to many – especially here in the West where there are people in high places who refuse to see how venomous the small nation truly is – is that it is a leader of democracy in the Middle East.

Yeah, right. Tell that to the Palestinians.

It’s no different than the white racist shitheads who proclaim that Jews are a race and not a people who worship Judaism.

And speaking of shitheads. A White Australian woman has been causing quite a buzz in the news. She recently turned 21 years-old and decided to celebrate by having a party. Not, just an ordinary party, but one where the theme was ‘Africa’.

So, how many of you think that the shindig was filled with a celebratory tribute to the continent, its people and its various cultures? If you think that, well, you’re WRONG!

It was exactly like the MLK day parties put on by white college students across the nation wearing black face, dressing up like mainstream rappers and having who-knows-what stuffed in the seats of their pants to make their flat asses look abnormally huge.

The Australian woman took photographs of the party and posted them on her Facebook page, refusing to take them down after confronted by someone who told them how racist they were. (You can peep the photos at Buzzfeed.) But she didn’t know what was so offensive about it, as she made a Tumblr page explaining her ignorance:

“Okay don’t even know how to use tumblr but wanted to clarify this.

It was my ‘African themed’ party and it was honestly made that theme because I have always wanted to go to Africa (to teach english) but haven’t made it there yet. In no way was this party intended to hurt anyones feelings or upset anyone at all. In fact as you can tell from the photos I dressed up as cleopatra, whilst MAJORITY of my guests came as animals, that can be found in africa or wore traditional african clothes or even dressed up as famous people who come from africa. If anything this was to celebrate the amazing country and people. However, some guest did decide to paint themselves, although this was in no way my intention or encouraged in the slightest. I understand that this has offended some people and I have no idea how these photos have even been seen, they were simply put on facebook for my guests to see the photos of themselves. I am 100% sure that parties would be held that would be ‘Australian themed’ or American themed or even countries of the world, and in that instance I don’t believe anyone would be offended. People wear oktoberfest cotumes to parties and no one cracks it that they are not German? So what I am saying is I do understand the people who have painted themselves have offended people, although none of them intended that…. but how can people be annoyed that the majority of the people at the party were celebrating another countries culture.

Also one of my friends who is Mauritian painted himself white, but that photos didn’t make it to this page along with the MAJORITY of people who were amazingly detailed costumes that no one could take offense to!! I am sure that not one person at my party felt upset that said guest painted himself white as it was not meant in that way at all.

Also, I have NEVER been asked to take these photos down, however if I had of course I would have done so, as I had no idea that anyone other than friends and guests could see these photos, and to be honest I am not a racist person at all so I didn’t think anyone could possibly take it that way. I intend to spend 2 months teaching english in cambodia in January, and cant wait to do the same in Africa. If you will still have me.

To reiterate, I was cleopatra and did not encourage my guest to wear anything racist simply to come as something African Inspired, much like if you went to an australia day party (Which I am 100% sure people of all races and cultures do every year!!!)

Again I am sorry for those I have offended and the photos have now been removed now that I have eventually been made aware people were upset. For those who know me at all you would know the last thing in the world I would want to do would be to offend people.”

I’ll let you cite everything wrong with her “explanation” aside from her not knowing when to capitalize words and that she believes that Africa is a country.

Anti-African humanism is so fierce and convincing that people of color have joined in the craze. Even African and Afro-descendants have bought the hype that black skin is a sin. So, the question I keep asking myself is why are black people so hated in this world?

I know that I were to ask that to some folks – those of pale skin that I would either get transparent denials to flimsy, racist, recycled excuses. Everyone should know the score by now.

“You people commit the most crimes in…wherever! Areas with a high black population are fucked up! You have low I.Q.s! But despite it all, I am not a racist!” Blah, blah blah.

When it’s all said and done, there is no excuse why should be so hateful towards Africa, its peoples or its descendants, and no amount of denial can cover it up. I would call them ignorant, but that would make them seem like they know not what they do. Many of them do, but they really and proudly don’t give a damn.

So, what is it about us that they hate when all of the excuses and denials are thrown out the window? Are they actually jealous of us and secretly want to be like us? Do they really hate themselves and are projecting their hate to cover up their own shortcomings and make themselves feel better about themselves at such a grand scale? Is it because we remind them that not everyone in the world is the same, and for some reason, they hate it? Is it because we remind them of the sins of the past, sins they hate to face for fear of destroying the only world they know and “love”. Or is it something more sinister at work?

The post Racism: The World’s Hatin’ on Africans (Part 1) appeared first on Madness & Reality.

I watch and read the reports on Palestine. The land of Palestine, being fought over. One side with all the latest in weaponry supplied and supported by the most powerful country in the world. the other firing homemade rockets, which is actually more than when they used to throw rocks or send in suicide bombers. Yet so much turmoil and death. Every death on one side being reported by mainstream media and death on the other side being downplayed.

It makes one nation of people stand out as the heroes, defending their own with tanks and technology. And the other nation misunderstood by many.

In a way, it is almost like my very own people. When our people fought with bows and arrows compared to cannons and guns. For over five hundred years the Natives of this land have fought, put their lives on the line, had their women and children attacked, murdered even by a government’s greed who only wanted their land. Manifest Destiny, nothing stood in the way of making this the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” Except for our people and genocide in all sorts and forms on all men, women, and children took care of the rest of that. And thus, the good ol’ US of A was built on the blood of over 500 nations.

And under this greed called Manifest Destiny, lives and tribes were lost, languages and innocence lost, and land was lost.
Land.

I had a friend who asked me when they read about the tribe in South America that threatened to commit suicide on their stolen land, “Why would you give up your life to have your land back?”

I understand why she don’t understand. It is not easy in this day and age to understand how a people can be so connected to their land. I know for a fact, every single Lakota that I know, when they drive through the Black Hills, they feel this connection to their land in their hearts. I know I do. I know in my heart this sacred land is the center of the universe. I feel a belonging, I feel the ancestors that lived there and lost their lives for this land. And I feel sorrow that this land was stolen by the very government of this country we pay taxes to, to this land we still lovingly call Turtle Island.

It may be hard for some people who have disconnected with who they are and where they are from to understand the power that the land you belong to has over you. This power is an enchantment that gives you no choice but to respect and honor the land, the very soil, Earth, Unci Maka, Grandmother Earth, who has taken care of, not only you but your people for century upon century.

Until every person on this planet can comprehend the pure raw power land can have over a people whom belong there, they will never understand the parallel between my people and the people of Palestine. And they will never understand why a people will fight long and hard for their land. And they will never understand that you can not own land, especially when it is stolen.

We are a people misunderstood, who love and respect where they are from, the very soil they come from. Until the day I die, my heart will be broken from the loss of the land where we come from. Land stolen, by any means necessary. Something that is still happening in this day and age. I pray for their struggle.

And to the people of Palestine, I do understand.

(Today we fight for our land with the technology and the tools of the modern-day and age of this world. We use social media and the internet to try to buy back a small piece of that stolen land, this piece called Pe’sla is one of the sacred places of our people and if you can’t give we would appreciate prayers and sharing. Thank you. Click here to donate.)

May the people of Palestine never have to resort to buying their land back.

The post Israel, Palestine, & the Native American Parallel appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Speaking in New York and introduced by non other than Bill Clinton at his annual forum, the Clinton Global Initiative. Mitt was given the perfect opportunity to show the world what real leadership on the world stage should, and can look like, should he become president of the United States.

In doing so, he made it quite clear that he “would never apologize for America.” But forever the successful business person and Harvard MBA turned über rich guy, Mitt spoke of “Prosperity Pacts” as the plan for peace in the Middle East. Saying that he is “often asked why, and what can we do to lead the Middle East to stability, to ease the suffering and the anger and the hate,” the perpetual American embarrassment offered the following comments in his speech today:

“Religious extremism is certainly part of the problem. But that’s not the whole story.

The population of the Middle East is young, particularly compared with the population of the West. And typically, these young people have few job prospects and the levels of youth unemployment across the region are excessive and chronic. In nations that have undergone a change in leadership recently, young people have greater access to information that was once carefully guarded by tyrants and dictators. They see the good as well as the bad in surrounding societies. They can now organize across vast regions, mobilizing populations. Idle, humiliated by poverty, and crushed by government corruption, their frustration and anger grows.

In such a setting, for America to change lives, to change communities and nations in the Middle East, foreign aid must also play a role. And the shape that role should take was brought into focus by the life and death of Muhammed Bouazizi of Tunisia, the street vendor whose self-immolation sparked the Arab Spring.

He was just 26-years-old. He had provided for his family since he was a young boy. He worked a small fruit stand, selling to passers-by. The regular harassment by corrupt bureaucrats was elevated one day when they took crates of his fruit and his weighing scales away from him.

On the day of his protest, witnesses say that an officer slapped Bouazizi and he cried out, ‘Why are you doing this to me? I’m a simple person, and I just want to work.’

I just want to work.

Work. That must be at the heart of our effort to help people build economies that can create jobs for people, young and old alike. Work builds self-esteem. It transforms minds from fantasy and fanaticism to reality and grounding. Work will not long tolerate corruption nor quietly endure the brazen theft by government of the product of hard-working men and women.”

And there you have it, folks. Finally, a solution to he thousands of years of unrest in the Middle east: work. It’s too bad that God never thought of that idea instead of sending Jesus as the answer. Heck, all God had to do was send Joseph Smith a few thousand years sooner, and things would be better in the Middle East. Let’s be honest: without Joseph Smith there’d be no Mitt Romney. And obviously without a Mitt Romney, those brown people in the Middle east would exist as the angry-but-shiftless people that they we’ve known them to be. And why? Because they don’t have jobs.

And of course everybody knows that not having a job tends to make brown people wake up every morning throwing rocks out of anger after strapping bombs to themselves. Yeah, why would anyone in the Middle East choose to be peaceful if America is hoarding all of the jobs in the world, right?

So how will Romney establish peace in the Middle east?

One former president, one would-be: Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (left), spoke this morning at former President Bill Clinton’s annual forum in New York City. President Obama addresses the Clinton Global Initiative later today.

“To foster work and enterprise in the Middle East and in other developing countries, I will initiate ‘Prosperity Pacts.’ Working with the private sector, the program will identify the barriers to investment, trade, and entrepreneurialism in developing nations. In exchange for removing those barriers and opening their markets to U.S. investment and trade, developing nations will receive U.S. assistance packages focused on developing the institutions of liberty, the rule of law, and property rights.

We will focus our efforts on small and medium-size businesses. Microfinance has been an effective tool at promoting enterprise and prosperity, but we must expand support to small and medium-size businesses that are too large for microfinance, but too small for traditional banks.

The aim of a much larger share of our aid must be the promotion of work and the fostering of free enterprise. Nothing we can do as a nation will change lives and nations more effectively and permanently than sharing the insight that lies at the foundation of America’s own economy — free people pursuing happiness in their own ways build a strong and prosperous nation.”

No word on whether anyone in Syria, Turkey, or the Palestinians are excited about the possibility of finding employment. But you gotta admit: jobs for oil sounds a lot better than that last war for oil program. That is, unless he decides to outsource American jobs to Muslim 47-percenters.

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Living on the gulf coast at the time, I remember it very well just how the events after Hurricane Katrina played out. Moreover, the one thing that sticks out in my mind was the response to the many thousands of so-called refugees in various municipalities within which they were forced to call home after the storm. To be quite honest, many of the displaced were not welcome in many municipalities,  and there were many complaints about the existence of potentially criminal-minded individuals from that other country known as New Orleans, spread across America.

I was reminded of this lack of humanity recently when riots broke out in Israel:

For many years, Jews were persecuted, discriminated against and oppressed in several European nations. During the Nazi era, they were confined to concentration camps, burned in ovens, starved to death, gassed with poison and subjected to other grotesque forms of genocide. Many fled Germany and other European countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Many came to Israel in search of peace and security.

 

In light of that history, Israel should strongly oppose of all forms of oppression. Unfortunately, it does not. Ironically, the Israeli government has become an agent of oppression and intolerance. Not only does Israel oppress the Palestinian people, Israel discriminates against African immigrants. Israel should be ashamed of its racist, anti-African policies and sentiments. (read more)

Ahh yes, that’s when I remembered that Israel is in fact America’s little brother, and as the old saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. As much as racism manages to rear it’s ugly head here in America, it’s beyond reason to believe that reading the Torah daily and having box seats in heaven makes one immune to the disease that is racism, often employed as the tool of choice to advance the concept of White Supremacy, and everything that is right about it. After all, this is the same Israel that the U.S. sided with when they walked out of the United Nations conference on racism, which sought redress by way of reparations for crimes against humanity. My guess is that the guilt of having to own ones crime became too much to bear.

So what is the Israeli government doing about this? Surely they’ll be open to listening to the words of the Sudanese version of Martin Luther King Jr. and do the right thing, yes? Well, not exactly; according to The Jerusalem Post, they’ve decided to do what Conservatives in America advocate. That’s right: deportation. Not exactly the Mitt Romney-styled plan of self-deportation; instead, the Israeli’s have launched a more friendly-sounding policy called “Operation Going Home” and have already started the process of removal of all Sudanese refugees in Israel.

Here’s what happened last weekend:

A plane carrying a group of 123 South Sudanese migrants took off from Ben-Gurion Airport late Sunday night on its way to Juba. It was the first such flight to leave Israel as part of “Operation Going Home,” in which authorities plan to deport South Sudanese in Israel.

 

The South Sudanese men, women, and children were processed for their flights earlier behind mounds of suitcases inside Ben-Gurion Airport’s Terminal 1. They were joined on the charter flight by four members of a South Sudan diplomatic delegation that came to Israel last Thursday to oversee the administration of the deportations and meet with local members of the South Sudanese community in Israel.

 

Earlier on Sunday, Interior Minister Eli Yishai said thedeportation of the 700- 1,500 South Sudanese in Israel barelyscratches the surface of solving the migrant problem facing the country.

 

Yishai said the real problem “is with Eritrea that has 30,000 people [in Israel] and north Sudan with 15,000,” adding that he hopes “that the legal obstacles to this will be lifted soon and we can expel them as well.”

 

Yishai admitted that the South Sudanese make up only a “drop within a drop” of the 60,000 or so African migrants in Israel, but added that deporting them is a “national interest” and that if he “has to chose between the interests of Israel and the interests of the Sudanese, I will choose Israel.

 

[…] Gidon Cohen, the head of the encouragement of willful repatriation department of the Population, Immigration and Border Authority, said that each South Sudanese adult received $1,300 in cash, with an additional $500 for each minor traveling with them. They were also given vaccines against diseases common to Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

[…] Escorted by friends and trailed by cameramen and reporters, dozens of South Sudanese men, women, and children filled into buses on the seventh floor of the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. As they loaded their bags onto the bus in the midday sun, the migrants described a mixture of feelings. While many spoke of anger towards the anti-migrant atmosphere in Israel and the arrests that accompanied the deportations, others spoke of relief that the deportation saga is coming to an end and happiness about finally returning to their homeland, a new country that did not exist when they fled years earlier.

 

Andrew Akolawine smiled on the pavement at the bus station, saying “I’ve been here for five years and I’m happy to be going back. You know in any circle, you must end at the point where you start. I started there [South Sudan] and I will finish there, this is enough.”

 

Akolawine, a father of four, spoke warmly of the Israeli friends he’d made over his years in the country, but added that recent anti-migrant statements by Israeli politicians had soured his opinion of Israel.

 

Still, he cracked, “I’m very proud that I am part of a people Israel thinks are so important that they don’t talk about the Palestinians anymore, just us.”

 

[…] Orit Marom of the Assaf NGO, which assists African migrants, called Sunday “a day of shame,” saying that Israel’s Interior Ministry “has trampled on the honor of great friends of Israel, the South Sudanese.” Marom added “the South Sudanese, unlike Eli Yishai, have a big heart and they forgive him.”

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the deportations during Sunday’s cabinet meeting, saying “today the government will begin the operation to repatriate illegal work infiltrators to their countries of origin. We will do this is an orderly and dignified manner.”

 

Netanyahu also spoke of the government’s efforts to stop the entry of further illegal migrants by finishing construction of the border fence, finishing detention facilities for illegal migrants and using diplomatic steps to find third countries to take in African asylum seekers.

 

On June 7, the Jerusalem District Court rejected a petition by human rights groups opposed to the deportation of South Sudanese, saying the NGOs did not prove that the South Sudanese would be in physical danger if they were returned home. Though assurances were made that the migrants would be given a week to prepare for deportation, three days later immigration officials began arresting South Sudanese across the country.

 

The arrests follow a decision announced in January by the Interior Ministry, which gave South Sudanese until April 1 to leave Israel willingly or face deportation.

Perhaps you have not been following much of the immigration debate here in the U.’S. lately. However, if you do, you cannot tell me that what’s happening in Israel does not eerily sound like what’s happening here in America. At the end of the day, I guess it can be said that Israel, like the United States of America, is no country for people of color, or in particular, people of African origin. Which is really sad when you think about the fact that the leader of the so-called free world happens to be a direct descendant of a black man born in Kenya, which makes his U.S. presidency illegitimate. Yeah, it’s really funny to me how that racism thing works; and how it impacts the lives of the dispossessed folk of African origin. I could be wrong, but maybe things would be different if cotton was a cash crop in Israel. Surely they’d be more welcoming and kind just like over here.

So why are there Sudanese refugees? Well, that’s up for debate depending on who you are. But according to a recent report by the United Nations, 2011 was the worst year for refugees across the globe since 2000. According to the report, 4.3 million people were newly displaced. About 800,000 of them fled their countries and became refugees (the remaining people were displaced but did not leave their countries, so they do not meet the definition of “refugee;” rather, they are considered IDPs – internally displaced persons). The report concludes, that at the end of 2011, there were 42.5 million displaced people worldwide — more than the population of Canada.

From the report:

2011 saw suffering on an epic scale. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. “We can be grateful only that the international system for protecting such people held firm for the most part and that borders stayed open. These are testing times.

Yes, testing times indeed, especially when you consider that much of the displacement is a direct result of policy decisions made by the U.S. and given a stamp of approval by Israel. This is especially troubling when you consider that the UN reports that Afghanistan remains the biggest producer of refugees (2.7 million) followed by Iraq (1.4 million), Somalia (1.1 million), Sudan (500,000) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (491,000).  This is particularly sad given that the top two countries producing refugees are places where we went to war.  Clearly, U.S. efforts have failed to make Iraq and Afghanistan safe; at least not in the minds of the millions of people who have decided that they cannot return home. But hey, none of this is racist, right?

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Walker, who is a long-time member of the boycott, divest, and sanction movement pointed out her own coming of age under American segregation and said Israeli policies were far worse. The writer expressed hope that her boycott would “have enough of an impact on Israeli civilian society to change the situation.”

Walker further writes…

In that regard, I offer an earlier example of THE COLOR PURPLE’s engagement in the world-wide effort to rid humanity of its self-destructive habit of dehumanizing whole populations.  When the film of The Color Purple was finished, and all of us who made it decided we loved it, Steven Spielberg, the director, was faced with the decision of whether it should be permitted to travel to and be offered to the South African public.  I lobbied against this idea because, as with Israel today, there was a civil society movement of BDS aimed at changing South Africa’s apartheid policies and, in fact, transforming the government.

It was not a particularly difficult position to hold on my part:  I believe deeply in non-violent methods of social change though they sometimes seem to take forever, but I did regret not being able to share our movie, immediately, with (for instance) Winnie and Nelson Mandela and their children, and also with the widow and children of the brutally murdered, while in police custody, Steven Biko, the visionary journalist and defender of African integrity and freedom — (read the letter in its entirety).

Walker has been increasingly steadfast in her activism against Israel’s policies against Palestinians and has traveled to the Gaza strip on a couple occasions. In 2011 she joined a flotilla of ships to help bring supplies and raise awareness– (source).

Author: Alice Walker

The violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has been a major source of contention for decades for the myriad of reasons and has prompted strong opinions from and about both sides. Attempts have been made to mediate a resolution that would placate both parties, to no avail.  Tuesday, an unknown militant group claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack in Israel on Monday, prompting airstrikes by Israeli military forces on “militant targets in Gaza”. Monday’s and Tuesday’s violence resulted in several casualties, including a two-year old Palestinian child, due to a misfired rocket launch.

As predicted, Alice Walker’s position on the conflict didn’t bode well with commenters on various news platforms that picked up the story. Some readers  unleashed racist tirades against the writer, accusing her of anti-Semitism and “reverse racism”.

As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to boil over, Is Alice Walker justified in her current stance against Israel’s policies? 

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But much to the angst of my Republican warhawk friends, he pretty much pushed back on the notion that now is the time to , “Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! Bomb,bomb, Iran!” According to the president, there really isn’t any evidence that Iran is capable of producing a nuclear weapon. However, just in case they might want to entertain the idea of doing so. For now, the best course of action is to allow current economic sanctions to squeeze them into submission. You know, much in the same way a starving North Korea announced dropping their nuclear program in exchange for the US sending them food last week? Yes, president Obama is of the belief that it will only be a matter of time before his sanctions will have an effect. Check out president Obama’s AIPAC speech below:

Israeli reactions to US President Barack Obama’s speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington on Sunday were divided along party lines.

Deputy Negev and Galilee Development Minister Ayoub Kara (Likud) criticized Obama for saying that too much bluster played into Iranian hands and suggesting that it led to higher gas prices.

“There is a saying that it’s easier to watch a fire from far away,” Kara said. “We are facing an existential threat, not the US. If Israel doesn’t bluster, the US will also be in danger, because Iran’s missiles will reach them too. Israel is doing everything possible to keep the world safe, and it’s unfortunate that the White House doesn’t see things the way we see them here.”

MK Danny Danon (Likud) mocked Obama’s promises to protect Israel’s security.

He said history had proven that Israel can rely only on itself.

“Looking back at the way the United States criticized Israel for destroying the nuclear reactor in Iraq, Israel must make its decisions based on its own good judgment,” Danon said.

Labor leader Shelly Yacimovich called Obama’s speech unquestionably pro-Israel.

In a speech in Herzliya, she wished Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu well in his meeting with the president.

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni blamed tension between Netanyahu and Obama on the prime minister. She predicted that there would be a large gap between Obama’s praise for Israel in his speech and what he would say to Netanyahu behind closed doors.

“Relations between Israel and the US have become political during Netanyahu’s term,” she said. “Netanyahu made Israel an issue in the American election and it’s a mistake. Netanyahu must understand that relations with the US are an essential need.

Our deterrence depends on it. He will be tested on whether he is able to draft the US into our interests or whether he will continue just manipulating internal American politics.”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that judging from the above piece, politics in Israel sounds very much like here in the US.

So, how do you see it? What exactly is the best approach in handling the situation with the possibility of Iran developing nuclear weapons? I’d really love to hear from you on this because from where I’m sitting, this isn’t as deep as Israel being blown off the map by Iran. I say this because lost in all the talk is the history of US relations with Iran. Sure we’re all aware of the longstanding love affair between Israel and the United States. But is Israel’s security really and truly in the interest of the United States? Moreover, how many Israelis have died alongside US military personnel in the US’s decades long war on terror in either Afghanistan, or Iraq? I’m not sure of the answers to these questions, so maybe you can help me out.

Awesome breakdown from The Real News Network below:

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