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| Dearborn, Michigan |
Editing by Carolyn Bennett
Déjà vu nearly four years after Operation Cast Lead
Three years ago under similar pretexts as now, the Israeli
government executed a war on Gaza that left more than a thousand Palestinians dead.
Thirteen Israelis, four of them under “friendly fire,” died in a carnage Israel
called “Operation Cast Lead”, the people of Gaza called the “Gaza Massacre.”
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T
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oday at Stop the War Coalition, Lindsey German points up the
disgraceful double standard of western leaders in the face of varieties of
conflicts in the Middle East. “The ‘humanitarian intervention’ that Britain and
France are demanding in Syria,” he writes, “is not going to happen in Gaza.” In
varying degrees,
… All Western governments will back
Israel— just as they did during the massacre of December 27, 2008– January 18,
2009.
The reason for the double standard is simple, he says,
“human life and security is way down the list when it comes to considering the
interests of the U.S., British and other western foreign policy.
“At the top of the list is strategic control and power in
the region. This is why the West happily dealt with dictators for decades and
why the West wants regime change in countries not totally under its control,
such as Syria and Iran. … Israel is central to the U.S. and its allies in the
Middle East; hence a staggering level of double standards — and the portrayal of
Israel not as aggressor, but as victim.”
 |
| Outside Egyptian Foreign Ministry |
The position taken by the West is, he notes, in marked
contrast to many views in the Middle East. Egyptian President Mohammad
Morsi, for example, has condemned Israel’s air strikes on Gaza, recalled the
Egyptian ambassador in Israel, and opened the Rafah crossing so that the people
of Gaza may get medical treatment.
Across the region and the world, there are protests to the
latest Israeli aggression.
As the people of Gaza received unprecedented worldwide solidarity
in 2008 and 2009 and will likely receive it in the latest aggression, German says,
“if we want peace and justice in the Middle East, we have to oppose
intervention in Syria and Iran as well, as it is all part of the same pattern,
with the same deadly intent.”
In the latest afternoon and early evening news from Gaza as
reported by Press TV and sources
Israel today launched a new wave of
attacks against the Gaza Strip, killing at least 17 people since yesterday; and
Palestinians responded with more than 250 rockets, which have hit several
Israeli cities including Tel Aviv.
A Palestinian rocket has landed in
southern Israel as recent Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip edge
closer to becoming an all-out war against the besieged enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has hidden in an underground bunker as Palestinians intensify their
rocket attacks against Tel Aviv (source: Israel’s Channel 10)
A United Nations agency assisting
Palestinian refugees says an Israeli airstrike on the north of Gaza has killed
one of its teachers.
“Gaza,” the stories recount, “has been blockaded since 2007,
a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented
levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty. The apartheid regime of Israel
denies about 1.7 million people of Gaza basic rights such as freedom of
movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.” |
| London, England |
Emergency Protest response to latest war on Gaza
Reported at the Electronic Intifada
Global
FRIDAY November 16
Aberystwyth (UK) | Aberystwyth University, 6:00 p.m.
Albuquerque (USA) |
UNM Bookstore, 5:00 p.m.
Athens (Greece) |
Israeli Embassy, 5 p.m.
Birmingham (USA) |
1400 University Boulevard, 1:30 p.m.
Bristol (UK) | The Fountains,
5:00 p.m.
Brussels (Belgium) |
Place de la Bourse, 4:00 p.m.
Cairo (Egypt) |
Tahrir Square
Cairo (Egypt) |
Mosireen (action meeting), 9:00 p.m.
Calgary (Canada) |
City Hall, 3:00 p.m.
Cincinnati (USA) |
MLK Boulvard and Clifton Avenue, 4:30 p.m.
Cleveland (USA) |
Public Square, 4:30 p.m.
Florida (USA) |
Gainesville, Turlignton Hall, 11:00 a.m.
Houston (USA) |
Intersection of Westheimer & Post Oak Boulevard, 4:30 p.m.
Kuala Lumpur
(Malaysia) | US Embassy, 2 p.m.
Liverpool (UK) |
Outside BBC Radio Merseyside, 5:30 p.m.
Manchester (UK) |
Picadilly Gardens, 5:00 p.m.
Michigan | the Diag,
University of Michigan, 3:00 p.m.
 |
| Palestinian homes routinely demolished |
Milan (Italy) |
Piazza del Duomo, 6:00 p.m.
Ottawa (Canada) |
Israeli Embassy, 50 O’Connor b/w Queen and Albert, 12:00 p.m.
Palermo (Italy) |
Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, 5 p.m.
Perth (Australia) |
Murray Street Mall, Perth City, 5:30 p.m.
Philadelphia (USA) |
Israeli Consulate, 19th and JFK Boulevard, 12:00 p.m.
Pittsburg (USA) |
U.S. Federal Building, 1000 Liberty Avenue, 5:00 p.m.
Sacramento (USA) |
Federal Building, 5th and I Street, 4:30 p.m.
San Francisco (USA) |
Israeli Consulate, 4:00 p.m.
Seoul (Korea) |
Israeli Embassy, Kabool Bulding, 149 Seorin-dong, 110-726, 1:00 p.m.
Wellington (New
Zealand) | Cuba Mall, by the Buckets, 12:00 p.m.
SATURDAY November 17
Aberdeen (Scotland) | St. Nicholas Square, 12:00 p.m.
Aukland (New Zealand)
| Aotea Square, 2:00 p.m.
Barcelona (Spain) |
Placa Saint Jaume, 12:00 p.m.
Bergen (Norway) |
Torgallmenningen, 2:00 p.m.
Brisbane (Australia)
| Brisbane Sq, 12:30 p.m.
Cardiff (UK) |
Aneurin bevan Statue, Queen Street, 2:00 p.m.
Edinburgh (UK) |
Charlotte sq, 12:00 p.m.
Frankfurt (Germany) |
Hauptwache, 3:00 p.m.
London (UK) | Israeli
Embassy, 2:00 p.m.
Melbourne (Australia)
| Bourke St Mall, 12:30 p.m.
 |
| November 2012 Israel attacks, kills people of Gaza |
Newcastle (UK) |
Grey’s Monument, 12:00 p.m.
Nottingham (UK)|
Nottingham Market Square, 5:30 p.m.
Oslo (Norway) |
Israeli Embassy, 2:00 p.m.
Portland (USA) |
Pioneer Courthouse Sq, 12:00 p.m.
Sheffield (UK) |
Outside the Town Hall, 12:00 p.m.
Stockholm (Sweden) |
Israeli Embassy 3:00 p.m.
Swansea (UK) | Castle
sq, 2:00 p.m.
Wrexham (UK) | Hope
st., near Barclays, 11:00 p.m.
SUNDAY November 18
Antwerp (Holland) | ProvincieHuis, 1:00 p.m.
Hong Kong (China) |
Victoria Park, 2:00 p.m.
MONDAY November 19
Berlin (Germany) | Brandenburge Tor, Pariser Platz 5:00 p.m.
 |
| Philadelphia, Pa. USAProtest |
UNITED STATES LIST OF ACTIONS
NOVEMBER 15-17:
The ANSWER Coalition urges everyone to go into the streets
and join and organize a demonstration in your area. info@answercoalition.org.
Albuquerque, NM
Friday, Nov. 16, 5pm
UNM bookstore
(Central and Cornell)
Contact: 505-268-2488
or abq@answercoalition.org
Baltimore, MD
Saturday, Nov. 17,
12noon
McKeldin Square
Contact: 443-759-9968
or baltimore@answercoalition.org
Boca Raton, FL
Thursday, Nov. 15,
9am-2pm
FAU Breezeway: 777
Glades Rd.
Boston, MA
Thursday, Nov. 15,
4:30pm
Copley Square
Chicago, IL
Thursday, Nov. 15,
4pm
Obama Headquarters,
130 E. Randolph St.
 |
| Scotland Protest |
Contact: 773-463-0311
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Saturday, Nov. 17,
2pm
Broward Federal
Courthouse
299 East Broward
Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, Nov. 15,
4pm
Israeli Consulate,
11766 Wilshire Blvd.
Contact: 213-251-1025
or answerla@answerla.org
New Haven, CT
Saturday, Nov. 17, 12
noon
141 Church St.
(opposite the Green)
Contact: 203-903-4480
or ct@answercoalition.org
New York, NY
Thursday, Nov. 15,
5pm
In front of the
Israeli Consulate (42nd St. and 2nd Ave.)
Philadelphia, PA
Friday, Nov. 16, 12
noon
Israeli Consulate:
1880 JFK Blvd.
San Francisco, CA
Thursday, Nov. 15,
5:15pm
Consulate General of
Israel
456 Montgomery St Ste
1500, San Francisco
 |
| November 14, 2012 attack on Gaza |
Syracuse, NY
Friday, Nov. 16, 12
noon
Federal building
Corner of Fayette St.
and Clinton St.
Contact: 315-491-6987
or Syracuse@answercoalition.org
Washington, D.C.
Friday, Nov. 16, 6pm
Rally at the State
Department (2201 C Street Northwest),
Followed by March to
the White House
Contact: 202-265-1948
or dc@answercoalition.org
http://antiwarcommittee.org/2012/11/15/israelis-launch-major-assault-on-gaza-join-protests-nationwide/
Sources and notes
“Double standards when it's Israel doing the killing: where
are the calls for a no-fly zone over Gaza? … The Israeli government cynically
launches military attacks as elections approach, safe in the knowledge that it
always gets away with just a caution, at worst, from the ‘international
community’” (Lindsey German), November 15, 2012, http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/palestine-and-israel/2030-where-are-the-calls-from-the-international-community-for-a-no-fly-zone-over-gaza
Press TV reports on Gaza
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/15/272472/gaza-rocket-strikes-south-of-tel-aviv/
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/15/272495/israel-kills-teacher-working-with-un-agency/
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/15/272487/israel-pm-oks-further-gaza-attacks/
“ACTION: Global list of scheduled protests against Israel’s
attacks on Gaza” (Submitted by Nora Barrows-Friedman) November 15, 2012, http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/action-global-list-scheduled-protests-against-israels-attacks-gaza
List compiled by @southsouth and @riverdryfilms; more
demonstrations are being added.
Jewish Voice for Peace has compiled an extensive list of
protests in North America.
Nora Barrows-Friedman reporting
Nora Barrows-Friedman, staff writer and editor with The
Electronic Intifada, has since 2004 reported regularly from Palestine. She also
contributes to Al-Jazeera English, Inter Press Service, Truthout.org, Left Turn
magazine, and various other international media outlets.
From 2003-2010, Nora Barrows-Friedman was senior producer
and co-host of “Flashpoints,” an award-winning investigative newsmagazine aired
on KPFA/Pacifica Radio-Berkeley, California.
“ISRAELIS LAUNCH MAJOR ASSAULT ON GAZA Join Protests
Nationwide! After getting the go - ahead from the Obama administration in a
meeting at the White House on Monday, Israel has launched another major assault
against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Israeli troops have been assembled at
the order and are poised to invade Gaza again” (By AWC Staff ⋅ November 15, 2012 ⋅Post a comment, Filed Under ANSWER, Gaza, Israeli Occupation of Gaza, Posted by the ANSWER Coalition on November 14, 2012, http://antiwarcommittee.org/2012/11/15/israelis-launch-major-assault-on-gaza-join-protests-nationwide/
http://antiwarcommittee.org/
War on Gaza 2008-2009
In Israel known as “Operation Cast Lead, in Gaza and by
Hamas known as the “Gaza Massacre” or the “Battle of al-Furqan” [the
criterion], the War on Gaza was a three-week armed conflict that took place in
the Gaza Strip during the winter three years ago: December 27, 2008– January18,2009.
The Gaza War left an estimated 1,166 to 1,417 Palestinians
dead, 9 Israelis (4 additional Israelis died from friendly fire).
Israel claimed the attack was to stop rocket fire into
Israel and arms import into the Gaza strip; after the beginning of the
conflict, Palestinian groups continued firing rockets in response to what they
characterized as ‘massacres’.
In September 2009, a United Nations special mission headed
by the South African Justice Richard Goldstone produced a report documenting
what had happened during the war on Gaza. The Israeli government later rejected
the report. No individual or entity has been held to account.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_War
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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