Solidarity: This Is What It Looks Like In Israel, Palestine, And Up In The North Cariboo.
Solidarity with Palestinian and Israeli workers means opposing anti-Israel boycotts:"Listening to people from both communities on the subject of the proposed international trade union boycott, it is evident that all parties oppose this action. In a meeting with the Jerusalem Municipality workers, one view from the Palestinian contingent was that a boycott would be more detrimental to the Arab workforce than any other." - Gerry Moloney, Advance Union.
Support Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine.
Meanwhile, keep your eye on the Solidarity Series, linking British Columbia's wage workers and cultural workers. Further to the Devlin's Bench miners, North Cariboo forest workers Michel Bernier and Jerry Krouzel demand the return of gaming money taken from non-profits and arts organizations. “Non-profits and arts groups are very important, especially in small communities in the hinterland, but they’re fragile. This funding can make or break them,” said Krouzel.
Warm regards, brothers Michel and Jerry:
posted by Terry Glavin at 12:19 PM
5 Comments:
A couple things Terry. It may be worth going to Palestine and seeing first hand why there the two state solution is rapidly dying wit an American admistration now, surpirse, surprise, capitulating and sanctifying the contineud theft of land by Israel. In the wake of Gaza and Goldstone I think it should be crystal clear why many around the world, including people who have been documentting the occupation for decades now like Neve Gordon, feel boycott can be a nonviolent way to force Israel to comply with internation law. It's extremely odd that, that in the wake of Hillary Clinton congratulated Netanyahu for his incredibly bravery in announcing the expansion of settlements in E. Jerusalem, that you canmt see this.
There is also soace for many different strategies in terms of ending the occupation, and boycotts should be on the table. Surely it is a critical function of the Palestinian diaspora and their supporters in the United States and Canada to speak truth loudly and forcefully to power. Who, pray tell, else is going to do this? The people of Gaza? Therefore those who are taking Israeli criminality and American complicity to task should be LEFT ALONE NOT ATTACKED, AND INDEED SUPPORTED by other advocates for Palestinian human rights. May the best strategy win.
I think that if you object to boycotts that fine but you should show some good faith, enage yourself with the reality on the ground and propose alternative strategies for ending the occupation. Saying "One Voice" will not help as that precludes analysis and its not as if any of their acts have stopped any settlement from being built, torn down an ugly and illegal wall or rebuilt one destroyed Palestinian home.
Mikeal:
The responsibility for the failure of the two state solution lies primarily with Yasser Arafat, who pretended to sue for peace and democracy while building a nation of jihaddists through a calculated strategy of by using schools, mosques and media to cultivate cadres of suicide bombers and creating faux events like the alleged destruction of Al Aqsa and the non-death of Mohammed Al-dura.
Hussein Ibish of the American Task Force on Palestine thinks one-staters like you, who advocate BDS are living in a fantasy world and do not have the best interests of Palestinians at heart.
"There are two fundamental flaws with pro-Palestinian strategic thinking that focuses on the idea of abandoning two states and going for a single state. The first is the question of feasibility, and it's hard to argue with that. Obviously anyone who is familiar with this sees the difficulty, and I would be the first to say that success is not assured by any means. Even a two-state agreement looks, at the moment, like something of a long shot. The difference between the two-state solution and everything else is that yes, it's a long shot, but it would work. And if we could conceivably get it, if we did get it, it would solve the conflict. "
http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/11/hussein_ibish_on_the_fantasy_w.php
Dragon--Hussein Ibish who i have some disagreements in term of tactis, is actually a friend of mine who has a credible history of advocating for Palestinian rights and speaks of the issue with an awareness (as all moral people should poccess) of not only the intracies of occupation but also the vast power differential which marks an occupiying state in violation which international law, which has denied and distorted ints role as an oppresor, and the occupied.
As for the reason we dont have a two state solution, well the reality on the gorund and the diplomatic and historical record is pretty much clear on that, it has been Israeli rejectionism and American complicity which bears the brunt of the blame. Even a fith rate hasbara hack could produce a more convincing account than the one you rendered
As always, Mikey doesn't answer any points raised, either by Ibish or by the commenter. Instead, he makes grand statements like "the diplomatic and historical record is pretty much clear on that, it has been Israeli rejectionism and American complicity which bears the brunt of the blame," when in fact, the "diplomatic and historical record" is anything but "clear" and most sane observers (ie, anyone but the BDS gang) apportion much or most of the blame to Arab/Palestinian -- not Israeli -- rejectionism. Ibish's main point -- 2 state solution -- is completely ignored. Instead, we get the usual meaningless "speak truth to power" sloganeering, and little else, other than the gratuitous insult (5th rate hasbara hack) from a 10th rate leftie noochschlepper without the ability to have or recognize an original thought.
Terry has it exactly right -- piss off Mikey.
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