Human Rights – Sixteen Minutes to Palestine

Excellent sentence by The Guardian on Stephen Hawking’s boycott of Israel (with bonus at the end)

May 10, 2013 By Sami Kishawi 2 Comments

World-renouned theoretical physicist Professor Stephen Hawking joined the boycott of Israel on Tuesday by withdrawing from a conference hosted by Israeli president Shimon Peres in Jerusalem.

The announcement was met with ferocious (and nonsensical) pressure from backers of Israel’s occupation. In one case, an Israeli law firm, Shurat HaDin, condemned Hawking’s decision to join the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement as “hypocritical”, arguing that the computers he uses contain technology designed by Israeli tech engineers.

Rather than addressing Hawking’s concern about the rights of Palestinians as well as Israel’s frequent and disproportionate use of force against Palestinian civilians, the critics chose instead to bring attention to Israeli technological or scientific contributions. It is as if these advancements grant Israel free reign to violate international law (via settlement building, occupation, etc.), civil rights (via minority rights, race-based deportations, etc.), and human rights (via movement restrictions, incarceration of children, etc.).

Luckily, Hawking isn’t bending. Whitewashing and rebranding Israeli human rights and international law violations, and attempting to guilt BDS advocates by skewing the focus of the boycott call is wholly unsuccessful. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary, News Tagged With: Avi Mayer, BDS, Human Rights, Israel, Jerusalem, Palestine, Shimon Peres, Stephen Hawking

The ways we contribute to the Palestinian cause

March 29, 2013 By Sami Kishawi 1 Comment

I recently met an inspiring young Palestinian woman just months away from becoming a certified physician. She did not speak of her accomplishments but it was very obvious that she had worked hard to excel in college, in medical school, on her national board exams, and in her life outside of being a model student. Even so, she expressed guilt at having been too busy with school to follow the news and the politics as much as she would have liked.

This raised a very interesting question: Must you be outwardly or actively political to contribute to the struggle for Palestinian rights?

My initial answer was no. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became in that answer. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, Opinion, Personal Tagged With: Human Rights, Palestine, Zionism

Coming to grips just weeks before the Second Intifada

December 20, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 2 Comments

A bedroom is damaged following an air strike in Gaza during the Second Intifada. Photo credit: Alberto Pérez Puyal

I spent the summer of 2000 in Gaza City, far from my air conditioned privileges back home in Chicago. I was only nine-years-old at the time and although I didn’t know what humidity was all about, I wasn’t immune to the heat, the sweat, or the mosquitos. I sat on my hands whenever I could to keep from scratching puffy mosquito bites and I knew better than to walk barefoot on the blisteringly hot sands of the beach.

My immediate concerns were weather-related but the more time I spent in Gaza the more I became attuned to the militarized reality of my immediate surroundings. I think my parents, specifically my mother, made a good decision in letting me think for myself on this one. Growing up, she had instilled in me a very cultural pride in Palestine. She’d talk politics to me, sure, but not in a way that confined me to a specific set of political beliefs. I was fortunate enough to develop my opinions on my own, and part of the reason I was spending my summer vacation in the occupied Gaza Strip was to give me direct access to the tools and the proof I’d need to make a conclusion.

At the time, I was allowed to travel to Gaza via Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airpot even though it meant dealing with long and unfriendly stares, something I clearly remember complaining about to mama. I was processed through the Erez Crossing and made to maneuver between foreign soldiers monitoring my every move. Tanks blocked passage through roads which, I assume, led to Israeli settlements. The cab driver who drove my family to our destination was made to flash an identification card at checkpoint stops. There were watchtowers and guards sitting on chairs and green jeeps driving to and fro. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: Ben Gurion Airport, Gaza Strip, Human Rights, Occupation, Second Intifada, UNICEF

In Rachel Corrie’s words, then and now

August 28, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 1 Comment

Nine years and five months after Rachel Corrie, aged 23, was fatally crushed by an Israeli armored bulldozer in Rafah, an Israeli judge dismissed a civil lawsuit brought by her family, ruling that Israel was not responsible for the “accident” and that Corrie had put herself in harm’s way. According to the High Court in Haifa, the bulldozer driver had not seen Corrie.

Of course, the first question that comes to mind is, how does a soldier and trained bulldozer driver accidentally bulldoze a human being wearing a bright orange jacket and shouting from a bullhorn?

As part of her senior year project at The Evergreen State College in Washington, Corrie chose to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in the Gaza Strip. Part of her regular activity involved attempting to obstruct the Israeli military from carrying out home demolitions. On March 16, 2003, she stood in front of a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer assigned to demolish a home in the Tel Al Sultan district of Rafah. It moved forward, crushing her and eventually toppling the structure.

If the bulldozer driver avoided locking eyes with Corrie, he’d have at least spotted the four other activists with her, each waving their arms and shouting at the the bulldozer crew to stop. Tom Dale, another ISM volunteer who was standing just meters from Corrie, recounts the following:

“They pushed Rachel, first beneath the scoop, then beneath the blade, then continued till her body was beneath the cockpit. They waited over her for a few seconds, before reversing. They reversed with the blade pressed down, so it scraped over her body a second time. Every second I believed they would stop but they never did.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, Commentary, News, Personal Tagged With: Home Demolitions, Human Rights, Israel, Rachel Corrie, Rafah

Is the FSA perfect?

August 1, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 2 Comments

Update, August 3: Agence France-Presse has reported that rebel leaders of the Free Syrian Army on Friday condemned the execution of Assad loyalists as “unacceptable, isolated and illegal” and have rejected responsibility for the killings. Earlier, however, one CNN correspondent reported that the Tawheed Brigade, comprised of FSA fighters, has already claimed responsibility for the executions. Nevertheless, it is promising to see FSA leaders openly denounce these kinds of acts and pledge themselves to the high standards set forth by human rights protocol and international law.

Is the Free Syrian Army (FSA) perfect? The straight answer is no. And I can’t understand how that fact has been twisted to justify something so horrific, so appalling.

Footage of what appears to be a mass execution in Syria emerged on YouTube yesterday. One of the individuals stripped down and killed in the 40-second burst of continuous gunfire has been identified as Ali Zeineddin al-Berri, reported to be a leader of a group of shabiha Assad loyalists. According to various sources, the executioners are FSA fighters and the victims are various members of the al-Berri family or tribe.

Since there is no indication that the roles have been reversed or that the shooters were the ones tied to Assad’s regime, I write this to all those who think the FSA is perfect. Because it isn’t.

Just because the FSA fights Assad does not make it an army of saints nor does it mean it is worthy of unconditional support. According to one senior legal adviser for Human Rights Watch, if the execution is indeed what it shows to be—members of the FSA shooting and killing prisoners in cold blood—then the FSA is guilty of committing a war crime. But that, for me, right now, is irrelevant. What strikes me is that the FSA has committed a very small fraction—but a fraction nonetheless—of the kind of thing its fighters have revolted against Assad for doing. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary, News, Opinion Tagged With: Aleppo, Free Syrian Army, Human Rights, Shabiha, Syria

Respect Ramadan by respecting our rights

July 20, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 1 Comment

The holy month of Ramadan is among us and as an early gift, the Israeli government has loosened some of its restrictions and even invited Palestinians to send Facebook friend requests to President Shimon Peres.

In an announcement made today, Israel has chosen to ease a number of travel restrictions for Palestinians in the West Bank. Palestinian men over the age of 40 will finally be allowed into Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, for example, while Palestinians between 35 and 40 will require special permits.

Israel has also ordered its soldiers to refrain from eating, smoking, or drinking in front of Palestinians “to demonstrate a high level of respect”.

If Israel’s motive is to seize the month of Ramadan as an “opportunity to extend the hands to each other for peace,” as Peres says in a newly filmed Ramadan greeting, it is already standing on shaky ground. One does not respect the holiness of Ramadan by making it slightly less challenging to partake in its spiritual and religious revival. Easing restrictions that normally keep the vast majority of Palestinians from praying in Al-Aqsa is about as respectful as throwing them a bone. Eliminating the restrictions and safeguarding the rights of Palestinians is the only justified way of demonstrating respect and extending a peaceful hand. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: Facebook, Human Rights, Ramadan, Shimon Peres

U of Chicago, Oren’s newest propaganda playground

April 2, 2012 By Sami Kishawi 1 Comment

After inviting former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to speak about leadership and peace just months after authorizing a brutal invasion of the Gaza Strip, it comes as no surprise that the administration at the University of Chicago welcomes Israeli ambassador Michael Oren with open hands.

At this university in particular, discourse concerning Israel’s occupation of Palestine is typically circumvented or distastefully kept under the radar. Instead, campus administrators feign objective neutrality and, for once afraid to challenge the status quo, make it a point to “show both sides” by presenting students with state-sponsored propaganda that virtually absolves Israel of any regional responsibility.

We saw this firsthand in October 2009 when the University invited Olmert to speak about moral leadership even though he faced indictments for criminal corruption charges. Asked about his idea of a lasting peace, he failed to mention that he had recently called for “disproportionate” assaults against the Palestinian people.

We saw this again earlier in the week when the University invited Oren to solicit American support in his campaign to whitewash Israel’s abuse of Palestinian rights.

Oren is currently on an extended tour of college campuses. His purpose at each campus is to draw parallel’s between U.S. democracy and Israel’s Jewish democracy and to stress the importance of the U.S. as a staunch ally and military financer. Organized by Israel’s Consulate General, his talks are blatant attempts to put Israel in a favorable light without ever considering its policies towards Palestinians under its occupation. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Local Events, Opinion Tagged With: Apartheid, Ehud Olmert, Gaza, Hebron, Human Rights, Michael Oren, University of Chicago, West Bank

Only Free Women Have Rights

March 8, 2012 By Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Guest contribution by Marwa Abed

Are all women created equally? This, is not a question we often asks ourselves. When talking about the quest for equality, discourse is usually shaped along gender lines, ignoring the colorization of equality. It has become so much easier to quantify and isolate women’s rights by, giving us gals a day, a Google doodle, and a surge of empty acceptance, without allowing a deeper deconstruction and contextualization of the role of women throughout societies. Women’s rights is not a white Western model nor is it a black post civil rights celebration. Women’s rights, and International Women’s Day, should become a cross cultural and cross racial movement for women’s solidarity. We must understand, and internalize, that no, not all women are created equality and that race, place, and religion have a big part in how women are treated. As women, we must stop isolating our issues, and open our eyes to the struggle of all women, and all people, and understand the humanity of equality.

International Women’s Day is still a point of celebration. It is a day that celebrates the achievements of women throughout history and should be used as a platform to highlight the continued inequity and need for progression. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Contribution, Opinion Tagged With: Equality, Hana Al-Shalabi, Human Rights, International Women's Day

Enforced disappearances: Women resist in both Palestine and Kashmir

March 8, 2012 By Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Guest contribution by Warda K.

Arbitrary arrests. Administrative detention. Abductions. Enforced disappearances. Torture. Rape. Beatings. Interrogation centers. Detention camps. Secret prisons. Unprovoked attacks on peaceful protesters. No right of free movement. Censorship of Information. Discrimination. Intimidation. Humiliation. Military-enforced curfew. Property destruction. Mass graves. Gang rapes. Ethnic cleansing. Occupation. These are words that immediately bring to mind the brutal 64-year-old occupation of Palestine by the Apartheid State of Israel. However the perpetrator of these identical heinous crimes committed under a 62-year military occupation in Kashmir, is the Republic of India.

Today is International Women’s Day, and so we celebrate women from around the world for their dedication, compassion, and strength. It is among them that we must acknowledge the valiant women of Palestine and Kashmir, who continue to endure decades of brutal, repressive, and inhumane military occupations. Under the belligerent occupation by Israel and India, countless women have lost their loved ones to a a systematic and predetermined crime, as Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance.

International Human Rights Law states that an enforced disappearance is an arbitrary abduction or detention of a person by a state or a political organization, who conceals the whereabouts and denies custody, which ultimately, places the detainee outside of the protection of the law. Amnesty International recognizes enforced disappearances a crime against humanity, as it directly violates, “the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to a fair trial, or if killed, the right to life.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Analysis, Guest Contribution Tagged With: Administrative Detention, Hana Al-Shalabi, Human Rights, India, International Women's Day, Israel, Kashmir, Khader Adnan, Palestine

Deconstructing Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers’ stale sack o’crap

December 26, 2011 By Sami Kishawi 3 Comments

A reader brought to my attention an article attempting to deconstruct a short essay I wrote on Gilad Shalit soon after Hamas authorities released him during the latest prisoner exchange. The article, published by “Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers”, asserts that I’ve hit a new low and that my essay is a “sack o’crap”. In keeping with the holiday spirit, we shall examine the author’s criticisms and show that the only “sack o’crap” that exists is the one fixed permanently at his or her doorstep.

The first thing the author fails to do is link to my article. This tactic can only be interpreted as a not-so-deceptive attempt at preventing his or her own readers from accessing the full essay. Sure, readers are free to find the article on their own, but citations and embedded links are a matter of professionalism and courtesy. Nevertheless, compared to the content of this attempted rebuttal, this is but a very trivial matter.

Also noticeable is the author’s skewed selectivism. It is a common strategy to quote only those lines or words that help build your case, but only as long as they remain in context. In this case, the author pulled less than a fifth of the article and managed to avoid commenting on the remaining four-fifths, the parts that deal with the Israeli government’s humanitarian abuses or Shalit’s role at the time of his capture. This will become more apparent in the coming paragraphs. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Analysis, Commentary, News Tagged With: B'Tselem, Geneva, Gilad Shalit, Human Rights, Law, Red Cross