Archive for May 2013
The One-State Solution Initiative
ما يسمى "بمشروع الحركة الشعبية للدولة الديمقراطية الواحدة على فلسطين التاريخية" مشروع جيد نظرياً ... وخطوة إيجابية ... ينقصه بندان: ١) أهمية إحترام حق الشعب الفلسطيني بالكفاح المسلح أينما كان في الأراضي الفلسطينية وحيثما يريد ... ٢) ضرورة إستقالة جميع قيادات أوسلو اللتي ساهمت في بيع الأراضي الفلسطيني للعدو الصهيوني وقمع الشعب الفلسطيني في الداخل وفي الشتات ..
The so called "Popular Movement for the One Democratic State on Historical Palestine" is a good project in theory and a positive step which is missing two important clauses: 1) the importance of respecting the right of Palestinian people to armed struggle in all of Palestine ... and 2) the resignation of all of Oslo's leadership which contributed to the sale of Palestinian land to the Zionists and the suppression of the Palestinian people inside Palestine and in the diaspora.
"West Bank of Jordan" on the Passport Canada Application Form
According to the Passport Canada Website, Palestine, the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), or the West Bank or Gaza do not exist.
If a Palestinian was born in the occupied West Bank, and wants to renew his Canadian passport, he must select "West Bank of Jordan - Jordan."
I do not know how long this has been the case on this application. But it is indicative of a corrupt and one-sided Canadian foreign policy that favours Israel under all circumstances.
Birthright Denied:
This is not the first time Passport Canada refuses to acknowledge the Palestinians' place of birth. When Hanna Kawas wanted to include in his passport the fact that he was born on June 2nd, 1948 in Bethlehem, Palestine, Passport Canada rejected his request. They told him he can either have Jordan, Israel or nothing.
About Mahmoud Abbas
I wrote this letter to the Palestinian community in Canada a few years ago (10/10/2009). I think it is still relevant today so I thought that I should share it again.
Dear Friends,
I have a few concerns regarding the direction the Palestinian solidarity movement in Canada and other countries is taking. Following the Palestinian Authority’s infamous decision regarding Goldstone’s report, I, among many people, received a barrage of e-mails and letters expressing condemnation of this decision. I was heartened by the fact that people are still actively concerned about the situation in Palestine which, with the help of Abbas, is getting worse. However, I am deeply worried by the fact that Israel has succeeded with virtually no effort to divert the attention from her unequivocal rejection of the report in its entirety, to Abbas’s so-called “treachery”, incompetence or whatever you wish to call it. However, we have to remember, first and foremost, that Israel is the enemy and not Abbas or the PA; and that should be our guiding principle. Abbas and his corrupt gang are nothing but tools, they form a colonial intermediary, they follow orders, and when your plumber breaks your sink, you blame the plumber not his tools. Furthermore, Abbas does not derive his legitimacy from the Palestinian people (not sure about you, but I was not consulted when he was put in power). Most Palestinians (including myself) claim that he does not represent them; and if somebody does not represent me why should I care about what he thinks in the first place? Is it because he’s in power and he does represent us whether we like it or not? Well, it is true; he is in power because our main, first and foremost enemy wants him to be and remain in power.
The second important point that I want to make is that it would not have made any difference whether the Palestinian Authority endorsed the report or not for several reasons. Firstly, there are two ways a state can appear in front of the International Court of Justice, 1) the state has to agree to do so (which Israel will never do); or 2) the general assembly has to defer the case to the ICJ; which will never happen because due to the convoluted nature of International Law the Security Council is not going to let that happen. So running around in circles making demands that the PA endorse the report and make a “positive” statement is nothing but a waste of effort, time and money. Secondly, Israel is not a signatory on the Rome Statute, which means that Israel is not obliged by law to hand in Israeli war criminals to the International Criminal Court. I apologize for appearing pessimistic, but this is the fact, and no amount of protest, demonstrations, letters or anger is going to change what is in the Rome Statute. I mean, if the ICC cannot get Sudanese President al-Bashir at a time when Sudan is suffering from a severe international alienation and pressure, then how do you expect the same organization to get Israeli war criminals who enjoy international support?
In my opinion, the effort should be directed to countries with “universal jurisdiction”. Those include, among many, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom (even Canada). We all know that Ehud Barak was arrested in the UK not so long ago (of course he was released later on). The Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon changed his plans to visit Britain because his office saw a possibility of him getting arrested. And Sharon was tried and charged in absentia for war crimes in Belgium. These efforts can yield good results if we intensify the work, support our lawyer and social scientists and encourage our youth to go into these fields.
Writing letters, making statements are nothing but means to channel frustration and anger at the status quo. I understand that most Palestinians feel like they were betrayed by Abbas and his following, but he is not the problem, he a symptom of a bigger problem. The problem is those who empower him; the United States, Canada, Israel, Europe and others. The direction the Palestinian solidarity movement is taking in Canada is dangerous and thorny and does not lead to anywhere. Judge Goldstone gave the Palestinians the key to a gold mine. In that report there is enough evidence to indict, try, and throw in jail many Israeli generals, soldiers, officials from all ranks; we can either throw that key in the ocean and complain about Abbas or we can take the key and use it. During the attacks on Gaza in January, everybody focused on Egypt and her betrayal of the Palestinian people and forgot about Israel. Every time something the like war on Gaza happens, everybody tends to (unintentionally and sometimes intentionally) rank Israel second or third or fourth in the list of those who are responsible. Please do not fall in that trap.
Thank you for reading my long e-mail.
Canadian Professors Support Academic Freedom on Campus
Khaled Barakat, a member of the organizing committee of the conference, called the leader of B'nai Brith a racist Zionist, and reaffirmed the Palestinian community's right to invite whoever they wish, wherever the wish and whenever they wish.
The UBC administration made it clear that they respect the academic freedom of its students, and their right to make their opinions heard without obstacles.
But we must also acknowledge a letter sent from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) to the UBC thanking them and affirming the right to academic freedom.
The letter which was sent by Mr. James Turk, executive director of CAUT, on May 2nd read:
Dear Professor Toope:CAUT was established in 1951 to defend the right of academics to voice their opinions freely and represents more than 69,000 members.
On behalf of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, I want to thank UBC for having stood up for freedom of expression on campus.
“A university is an open community and there are all sorts of groups that think, believe and state their opinions differently,” UBC public affairs director Lucie McNeill said. “You expect different schools of thought to contend on a campus.”
The Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday that there had been a demand that UBC prevent a controversial figure from speaking at a conference being sponsored by a student group on the UBC campus. The University’s response as reported by the Globe was excellent.
More than a decade ago, UBC spoke out equally clearly when one of your wealthiest donors as well as many others demanded that Professor Sunera Thobani be fired for remarks she made as part of a conference panel in the aftermath of 9/11. Freedom of expression and academic freedom can never be taken for granted, yet are the lifeblood of academic work. It is of immeasurable importance when on of Canada’s most respected universities speaks out so clearly.
Yours sincerely,
James L. Turk
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