If my PM is a war criminal, so is Tony Blair

TOI-Billboard,

/Some measure of hope in spite of that / /Budrus tears down the Wall Flying kites for the release of CO Yahel Avigur 250 teenagers sign new “Refusal Letter” Peace activists' letter to Kofi Annan March 8, an evening about women prisoners "Take away their guns!" - a demo report If my prime minister is a war criminal, so is Tony Blair ..and this is not in occupied territory U.S. blasts Israel over Lebanon remarks, Akiva Eldar U.S. warns Israel to evacuate outposts or harm relations, Akiva Eldar/ / / *Some measure of hope in spite of that * ** Also this week - as if there were no ceasefire - hostilities, killings, arrests, roadblocks, wall-related destruction of farmlands & violent dispersion of protests. And still not even a beginning of an IDF withdrawal from any city, negotiations stuck on the demand of the Palestinians not to be left with besieged cities; that the withdrawal will be not just from the city but also from the area around it, including the removal of roadblocks. There was the Talia Sasson report which revealed what we already knew: that government money, and government institutions were involved all the way in the creation of the so-called "illegal hilltop settlements" (other settlements being considered "legal" here in Israel although they as well violate international law). The good thing: some clear signs that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has set herself upon bringing both sides - not only the Palestinians - to fulfill their Road Map commitments. See below what Akiva Eldar wrote about it. ~~~ *Budrus tears down the Wall*

/photo/ http://www.geocities.com/keller_adam/budrus_fence.jpg In response to an unprovoked military invasion in the West Bank village of Budrus, villagers, who have been struggling against the Wall for more than one year, tore down pieces of the Separation Fence which is built on their land. /For more on anti-wall demonstrations in Budrus and Bil'in: /http://www.geocities.com/keller_adam/wall_protest.htm ~~~

Flying kites for the release of CO Yahel Avigur

Saturday, March 12, dozens of demonstrators - most of them youths who face conscription and intend to refuse themselves - climbed the hill overlooking Military Prison 6 at Atlit. Using a megaphone, they chanted slogans calling for the immediate release of conscientious objector Yahel Avigur. Afterwards they flew kites bearing peace signs into the sky.

“We have come here to deliver a message of non-violence and freedom of conscience,* *and to protest Yahel's being imprisoned for his adherence to those principles" say the organizers.

From the day he declared his refusal to serve in the army, the army has not ceased its efforts to lead him astray and prevent him from presenting his principles to the “Conscience Committee”. After several months of procrastination he was finally allowed to appear before the committee on January 20, 2005, but has not heard from them since - and instead, was sent to prison when refusing to wear military uniform. About a week before his second imprisonment Avigur wrote the following words:

"The solution to violence can only come from non-violence. Only through listening, empathy, love and a sense of equality will there be an end to violence, allowing us to live in peace, we and the other."

~~~

*250 teenagers sign new “Refusal Letter” About 250 Israeli teenagers today sent a collective letter to the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, chief of the IDF general staff and Minister of Education. The signatories declare that they will refuse to take part in the occupation, either by refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories or by altogether refusing to serve in the army. /Read more:/ http://www.geocities.com/keller_adam/new_shiministim.htm ~~~

*Peace activists' letter to Kofi Annan* /signed by Israelis, Palestinians and internationals/ "[Your] visit [to Israel/Palestine] takes place at a particularly sensitive time, when every action has most serious long-term ramifications. Precisely because of the importance of your visit here, the choice to include certain sites on your itinerary and exclude others is crucial" /Full text:/ http://www.geocities.com/keller_adam/Letter_Kofi.Annan.htm ~~~ *March 8, an evening about women prisoners* ** "The day when all women were set free as part of the Oslo peace process, after years of struggle, was one of the happiest in my life - but with the second Intifada, the women's prisons all too soon filled up again" (Hava Keller). ** /Full text:/ http://www.geocities.com/keller_adam/wofpp.htm ~~~ /Earlier in the week - March 6: /*"Take away their guns!" - a demo report* http://www.geocities.com/keller_adam/takeguns.htm ~~~ *If my prime minister is a war criminal, so is Tony Blair* /Daphna Baram/ - Thursday March 10, 2005, The Guardian I read Ken Livingstone's article on these pages in which he explained his position on Israel and anti-semitism with great care, and agreed with it. I have always respected his unequivocal stance against racism and I don't believe that he is anti-semitic. And yet I am angry. /Full text:/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1433979,00.html /For the original article by Livingstone: /http://politics.guardian.co.uk/gla/comment/0,9236,1430185,00.html ~~~ *..and this is not in occupied territory* Ali Zbeidat, Arab citizen of Israel and resident of Sakhnin in the Galilee, received a court order for the demolition of his home. Unfortunately for him, his home is in an area of disputed jurisdiction, which the Misgav Regional Council defined as a "green zone." This council is composed of purely Jewish communities, established in the 1980s with the explicit purpose of "Judaizing the Galilee" among other things blocking the growth of Sakhnin. Zbeidat was fined 15,000 shekels or 70 days imprisonment, and was given demolition orders of his home to occur in 2 months if the proper zoning is not secured. The zoning has been sought after for the past 7 years, but denied each time Mr. Zbeidat applied for it.

Sakhnin Diaries / An un-neighborly tackle at Joha's well /By Jarrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler /http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/542633.html Apartheid targets Palestinian home-owners inside Israel /Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada/ http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3674.shtml Ali Zbeidat's own report: http://www.geocities.com/keller_adam/misgav.htm ~~~

*U.S. blasts Israel over Lebanon remarks, Akiva Eldar* http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/549602.html ~~~ *U.S. warns Israel to evacuate outposts or harm relations, Akiva Eldar* http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/549577.html ~~~ # Billboard for Israeli peace activist speakers abroad http://www.geocities.com/keller_adam/TheOtherIsrael_speakers.ht

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