FREE SPEECH ZONE | The Destruction of the Mamilla Cemetery: Desecration of a Sacred Site

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The Ma’man Allah (Mamilla) Cemetery was the oldest Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem with graves dating back to the seventh century, comprised of 33 acres and tens of thousands of graves. After 1948 the Israeli ministry that maintained the site reassured world leaders that this important religious site would be cared for in perpetuity.Less than fifteen years later, in the 1960s a park was built in part of the cemetery and a parking lot covered another part. These were followed by a school, football field, underground parking garage, and road. Electrical wires were laid in other sections.The final few acres were dug up just before the beginning of Ramadan, in the middle of the night (as can be seen on the CNN video: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2010/08/13/vo.cemetery.demo.cnn.html) so that Israel can build the Museum of Tolerance in conjunction with the Simon Wiesenthal Center in the United States.Free Speech ZoneThe Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases.An enormous amount of knowledge was lost with the destruction of the Mamilla Cemetery, according to St. Continue Reading

International condemnation of Israel follows commando raid on Gaza “Freedom Flotilla”

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Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara, which was carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, on Monday, and were assaulted by a mob onboard the ship. In the ensuing violent confrontation, the Israelis killed nine passengers and more were injured, according to press reports; seven Israeli commandos were injured. Israeli officials have not released the names of the dead. JTA reported today that two more ships that are part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla are still planning to sail for the Gaza coast: An Irish ship named Rachel Corrie, for the Gaza activist killed in 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer, and an American ship will likely arrive in international waters outside of Gaza next week, according to reports. The ships are docked now in ports but intend to continue on their journey, despite the death of nine activists Monday morning during violence when Israeli Navy commandos boarded six of the flotilla’s ships, Greta Berlin, one of the heads of the Free Gaza movement, told Ynet Tuesday. Continue Reading

The Israeli Hammer

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A remark on the Israeli interdiction of the Gaza flotilla:

Amos Oz writes, “To a man with a big hammer, says the proverb, every problem looks like a nail.” The world’s most sophisticated armed forces can send in a team equipped only with hammers, ready only to hit nails?

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FREE SPEECH ZONE | The Gaza Freedom Flotilla

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As I write this the Israeli Navy may be surrounding, boarding, detaining the crew and passengers of, and possibly disabling the six ships left in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. (Two ships have experienced suspicious mechanical problems.) Israel has said that the ships are a “provocation,” and that therefore it has a right to stop the mission. But this attempt to break the siege on Gaza, like many previous attempts, is non-violent, unarmed, and bringing humanitarian aid. The cargo of the ships include banned items like wheelchairs and dental equipment, food and school supplies – items banned by Israel in their attempt to break the will of the Palestinians living in Gaza.      The ships are traveling through international waters and plan to dock in Gaza. Continue Reading

Israel and Gaza: Holding members of Congress legally accountable

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In legalistic terms, based on what I’ve observed, there is “probable cause” to believe the current members of Minnesota’s Congressional delegation have violated their “oath of office” by “aiding or abetting” the international “war crimes” the State of Israel has apparently committed in Gaza.(1,2) The Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. They also appear to be violating their oath by failing to enforce the U.S. Arms Export Control Act (AECA). Unlike Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), none of them has to my knowledge implored Secretary of State Rice to submit a required Presidential report on possible AECA violations.(3)
Instead, all but Rep’s. Ellison and McCollum have supported the largely one-sided House and Senate resolutions that essentially gave Israel a “green light” to escalate military and other operations in Gaza.(3,4) And all but newly elected GOP Rep. Eric Paulsen have apparently voted for military and other aid to Israel despite its apparent history of AECA violations. Continue Reading

With two exceptions, Minnesota’s congressional members approve of Israel’s Gaza siege

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As expected, the U.S. House of Representatives approved, by an overwhelming 390-5 bipartisan vote, a non-binding resolution “[r]ecognizing Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.” Aside from Reps. Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum, who voted “present,” Minnesota’s delegation, regardless of party affiliation, voted for the resolution. In a floor statement, McCollum, who was among 22 legislators who refrained from voting, said the resolution “justifies Israel’s bombardment of the citizens of Gaza, sanctions the incursion of Israeli troops into Gaza to clear this occupied territory of Hamas fighters regardless of the human cost, and calls for ’supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process’ while innocent Palestinian women and children are being killed in Gaza. This resolution strongly and justifiably condemns Hamas, but the resolution’s intent and substance are void of any relation to the hellish reality that is being inflicted on the citizens of Gaza right now or the deprivation inflicted upon Gaza families by Israel’s harsh denial of food, medicine and fuel over the past year.”
Four Democrats (Calfornia’s Maxine Waters, Ohio’s Dennis Kucinich, Wisconsin’s Gwen Moore, West Virginia’s Nick Rahall) and one Republican (Ron Paul of Texas) voted against the resolution. In her defense of the resolution, Republican Michele Bachmann said, “No one likes to see the destruction, the loss of life, the grief. Continue Reading

Senate passes resolution supporting Israel’s Gaza strikes

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With the Palestinian death toll in Gaza passing 700 and conditions an on-the-ground doctor calls “the closest you come to a massacre,” the United States Senate has passed a non-binding resolution expressing “unwavering” support for Israel and its air and ground strikes on Gaza. With bipartisan sponsors, the resolution, which passed on a voice vote, states Israel has a right to defend itself from Hamas rocket attacks and urges George W. Bush’s administration to pursue a ceasefire with both sides. (The House is expected to pass a similar resolution.)
Co-sponsor and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-Kentucky) said the Israelis “are responding exactly the same way we would.”
So far, 11 Israelis have reportedly been killed during the 13-day conflict. In other developments, the International Committee of the Red Cross accuses Israel of preventing — for four days — aid workers from reaching injured Gazans. Finally granted access to an east Gaza City neighborhood on Wednesday, Red Cross workers made some “shocking” finds:
The statement said a team of four Palestine Red Crescent ambulances accompanied by Red Cross representatives made its way to Zeitoun Wednesday where it “found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses. Continue Reading

Tutu’s “moral equivalencies”

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Many of those who heard or saw Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the last few days may have recalled that in the October 5, 2007 letter to his students, faculty and staff, University of St. Thomas President Dennis Dease said in part:
The Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases.Last spring, a representative of our Justice and Peace Studies program advised my office of an opportunity to invite Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak at St. Thomas during the PeaceJam conference. I discussed the matter with my staff and decided not to take advantage of this opportunity. Continue Reading

Free Speech Makes for Strange Bedfellows

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Today’s Pioneer Press (Thursday, October 04, 2007) on pages 1B and 6B took me quite aback.

I read there that Marv Davidov had taken a stance with which I fully agreed. This had never happened before. From my youth I have never had much truck with peace at any cost advocates, which is the camp in which I place Marv for his consistent, dedicated, anti-war, pro-peace advocacy.

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