Jeff Halper at Internasjonalt Seminar

In the series Wise Men Talk About Israel/Palestine I am delighted to share with you another recording from another Internasjonalt Seminar in Tromsø last fall. The recording is of a lecture by Jeff Halper, Coordinator of Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), Professor of Anthropology and previously nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The heading of the lecture is "Is there hope for Palestine? Is there hope for Israel?"
Take some time to find out. Also, it's a quite good introduction to the conflict and its history. (And yes, it's in English)



You can also read a transcribed version of this recording, with illustrative maps, available (in pdf) here

Enough

By Mazen Kerbaj

Mapping the Occupation

40 years ago, on this very day, the brutal noise of the Six Day War faded. As the seventh day arose, it became clear that the peace Palestine woke up to was a reality no less brutal than the war itself: The Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, and in addition the later returned Sinai and the Golan Heights. 40 years have passed, and the illegal occupation is still going strong, thanks to the goodwill of the Western world (who ironically claim to be the ambassadors of Democracy and Freedom).

It is hard - if not impossible - to imagine what life in occupied Palestine is like if you haven't seen it with your own eyes, haven't felt the humiliation at the check points, heard the sound of bombs and gunshots, experienced the horror of not knowing whether your children will return home alive at the end of the day. Hard also is it to keep track of the facts on the ground, which in everyday political discourse is cleverly left out, denied or hidden under a carpet of completely useless coexistence projects. Fortunately, the Guardian have created a map device that takes the infrastructure of the Israeli occupation to a visible and easily understandable level. Click on the following link and then the arrow left of the title "The West Bank - mapping an occupation":

The Guardian - Mapping an Occupation

Then, you can click on the buttons to the left to show the elements of the Matrix of Control one by one. Note especially the discrepancy between the Green Line (the armistice line from the war in 1948-49) and the route of the Wall ("Separation Barrier"). If the wall indeed was created to define the final borders of a future sovereign Palestinian state, then why on Earth are parts of the wall built deep into the Palestinian Territories and far from the Green Line? Then why does it separate Palestinians from Palestinians, instead of the alleged purpose of separating Palestinians from Israelis? And then what's up with the Israeli Only highways dividing the entire West Bank? And then what about the settlements, which were doubled in number during the Oslo "peace process"? See for yourself. There is no longer anything left of what could have been a Palestinian state in the future. What is left is a conglomerate of Palestinian bantustans completely controlled by Israel. People of the world should learn to see this, and start calling what they see by its only proper name: Apartheid.

For further facts, resources and excellent (!) maps of the occupation, see the webpages of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). I especially recommend the Map Centre in there. Don't say you didn't know!

40 years of Occupation, 18 000 demolished homes

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Israel's Occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, let me publish an ad from ICAHD concerning their new campaign to rebuild each and every Palestinian home demolished by Israel this last year:

THIS HAS TO STOP.

WE PLAN TO STOP IT.

For 40 years the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza has brought nothing but misery, death and destruction to Palestinians and Israelis. During that time Israel has demolished 18,000 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories – 95% of which had nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism or security.

40 YEARS AND 18,000 DEMOLISHED HOMES ARE ENOUGH!

On June 9-11, the 40th anniversary of Israel’s Occupation, we at the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) will join with grassroots organizations the world over to demand its immediate and total end. Only then will Israelis and Palestinians be able to move forward to the just peace both peoples crave.

On June 11th, ICAHD will launch a campaign to rebuild each and every Palestinian home demolished by Israel in the Occupied Territories during this 40th year of the Occupation – about 300 homes in total.

Support our campaign to end Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes. Tell your political representatives that only when the Palestinians are free will Israel enjoy peace and security. Tell them what former Secretary of State James Baker told the current Bush Administration: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict constitutes the “epicenter” of global instability.

Tell them that 40 years is enough!


THE ISRAELI COMMITTEE AGAINST HOUSE DEMOLITIONS (ICAHD)