I just found out about the Israel Palestine Forum developed and moderated and administered by the one and only Richard Silverstein, he of the Tikun Olam - Make the World a Better Place Blog. I encourage you to visit the Forum and, if you like what you see, become a member.
Not having seen any topic on the Forum with the subject of House Demolitions, I just posted a message about Jeff Halper, ICAHD, house demolitions, colonization, dispossession, apartheid and the death of the two-state solution and the solution - ending the occupation.
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5 comments:
to learn more about ICAHD see this blog
Hi Shlomo
Thank you for referring me to NGO Monitor. I read the material about ICAHD and certainly disagree with most of the opinions expressed.
It would be helpful to me and to the readers of this blog if you would read this post I published after hearing Jeff Halper speak and let me know what you disagree with and why:
http://judaismandisrael.blogspot.com/2007/10/jeff-halper-end-house-demolitions-end.html
For example, Jeff says that 95% of the houses that were demolished were not connected with security reasons but, I assume, primarily because they were built without a permit. The NGO Monitor says that he does not provide any back-up for this. If you think he is wrong, please provide what you believe to be accurate data from some official Government of Israel agency.
In addition the NGO Monitor accuses Jeff of campaigning against the two state solution. What I heard him say is that the Matrix of Control imposed by the Government of Israel has created a situation that there is no longer the possibility of a viable contiguous two state solution. What is the two state solution that the NGO Monitor has proposed to the Government of Israel and is strongly endorsing and supporting.
In that connection, in today's Boston Globe, the Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad says that unless the Government of Israel is prepared to come up with a deadline for a peace deal,the "prospects for a two-state solution are getting dimmer every day." Isn't it possible that it is and has been the Government of Israel that has been for years campaigning against a two state solution.
Thank you again for taking the time to post a comment. I look forward to hearing from you.
After all, I think that all of us are simply looking for a path to a "just peace".
Ron
Hi Ron,
I haven't met Jeff, but I have sat in a Mosque in the UK during an event commemorating the Nakba, during which a video of Jeff Halper was shown.
The video showed a very emotive Jeff (something he is good at) start off with reaosnable arguments, then very rapidly get more and more extreme and disconnected from reality. This was the view expressed by our Palestinian host who commented that it was just propoganda, he was exagerating but we should forgive him because he was trying to help. Another visitor from the ISM disagreed and declared that Israeli hospitals and universities were apartheid institutions. Again our Palestinian host intervened and said he had to disagree in the strongest terms. He recounted some problems where Palestinians injuries were not regarded as serrious enough to be let through the border and this let to medical complications when they eventually did get through, but the hospitals and also the universities he assured us all treated everyone equally.
The point I guess is that there are ebnough real problems without creting immaginary ones. Specially immaginary problems that are fabricated to make Israel look like South Africa and their allow people to pass moral judegement without bother with the facts or the real situation.
Camera showed Halper's hyperbole, inaccuracies, and outright lies. The report includes the fact that "Halper justifies Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis", and that "Halper also opposes the existence of Israel". These are backed up with direct quotes from the man himself. The Camera report is
here.
An article by Seth Freedman at The Guardian's Comment is Free also goes into detail about the problems with ICAHD. He concluded:
"However, distorting the truth, calling for Israel's destruction, and supporting Palestinians "right or wrong", will simply burn down the very same bridges they should be scrambling across if resolution is their true aim."
The most recent report on ICAHD from NGO Monitor says:
* ICAHD consistently promotes the “Durban strategy” (of demonising Israel)
* Halper is quoted as accusing Israel of "ethnically cleansing Palestinians"
* ICAHD promotes "a highly one-sided view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict"
* ICAHD "ignores the context of ongoing Palestinian terror attacks"
* ICAHD "campaigns against the two-state solution"
I really think you need to take another look at ICAHD. We may be looking for a path to a just peace, but Halper and ICAHD on the other hand are simply looking to destroy Israel and white wash the conflict so it can be told as a simple story of Palestinian good, Israeli bad. This is not just, nor will it bring peace. The situation simply isn't that simple.
Hi
Thank you for your comments.
You may have seen it already, but I have posted my response as a new post on this blog titled "CAMERA obscura - ICAHD and Jeff Halper"
http://judaismandisrael.blogspot.com/2007/11/camera-obscura-icahd-and-jeff-halper.html
Ron
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