Gush Shalom pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org You brought the boycott upon yourselves Gush Shalom letter to Bar Ilan University Tel-Aviv, April 26, 2005 To Professor Moshe Kaveh President Bar Ilan University Dear Sir In various media interviews today you expressed anger at the decision of British university lecturers to declare a boycott against the Bar-Ilan University, calling it "an unacceptable mixing of politics into academic life". When asked about the "Judea and Samaria College" which your university maintains at the settlement of Ariel, you stated that this was "an entirely non-political issue" and that said college was nothing more than "the largest of five colleges which Bar Ilan maintains at different locations in Israel". Indeed, you declared yourself and your colleagues to be proud of the decision to establish the Ariel college, and you felt no contradiction between continuing to maintain that college, at the investment of a considerable part of Bar Ilan's total resources, and the maintenance of extensive ties with universities worldwide, including in Britain. As an example you mentioned your own ties as a physicist with Cambridge University and your plans to spend some time at Cambridge this summer - plans which, as you stated, remain unchanged also in the wake of the British lecturers' decision. Surely, a person of your intelligence and experience can be expected to note the obvious contradictions in the above position. As you well know, Ariel is not "a location in Israel". Rather, Ariel is a location in a territory under military occupation, a territory which is not and has never been part of the state of Israel. Moreover, Ariel is a special kind of location: it is an armed enclave, created by armed force and dependent for its continued existence on force, and force alone. The creation of Ariel is a severe violation of international law, specifically of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which specifically forbids an occupying power from transferring and settling its own citizens in the occupied territory. On the ground, the creation and maintenance of Ariel entailed and continues to entail untold hardships to the Palestinians who happen to live in the nearby town of Salfit and in numerous villages a long distance all around. Palestinian inhabitants are exposed to ongoing confiscation of their land so as to feed the land hunger of the ever-expending Ariel settlement, and their daily life are subjected to increasingly stringent travel limitations in the name of "preserving the settlers' security". The government-approved plans to extend the "Separation Fence" so as to create a corridor linking Ariel to the Israeli border necessitate the confiscation of yet more vast tracts of Palestinian land, depriving thousands of villagers of their sole source of livelihood. Moreover, should the Ariel corridor be completed, it would cut deeply through the territory which the international community earmarked for creation of a Palestinian state, depriving that state of territorial continuity and viability. For that reason, the plan aroused widespread international opposition, not least from the United States, our main ally on the international arena. In all of this the Bar Ilan University, of which you are president, made itself a major partner - indeed, since a violation of international law is involved, the term "accomplice" may well be used. The "Judea and Samaria College" which you and your colleagues established and nurtured has a central role in the settlement of Ariel, increasing its population and its economic clout. The college's faculty and students are prime users of the "Trans-Samaria Road", the four-lane highway which was created on confiscated Palestinian land in order to provide quick transportation to Ariel. The Palestinian villagers on whose land this highway was built are excluded from using it. They are relegated to a rugged, bumpy mountain trail. It is you and your colleagues, Professor Kaveh, who started mixing academics with politics. A very heavy mixture, such as few universities anywhere ever engaged in. You cannot really complain when people in Britain, who have different standards for what is the proper moral behavior of academics (or for human beings in general) take action which you do not like. In fact, if you are truly proud of establishing and maintaining the "Judea and Samaria College", you must have the courage of your convictions and take the consequences. Much better, of course, would be for you and your colleagues to sever your connection with the ill-conceived settlement project - and than you can quite rightly demand that the boycott be removed from your university. Yours Uri Avnery Gush Shalom (The Israeli Peace Bloc) *** PETITION : Stop Naqab/Negev "Development"! http://www.petitiononline.com/ittijah1/petition-sign.html View Current Signatures - Sign the Petition ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Governments of United States and European Union, and the United Nations Ittijah - the Union of Arab Community Based Associations, calls for a complete and halt to any international financial support for Israel's "Plan for the Development of the Naqab (Negev) and the Galilee," which is intimately connected to Sharon's "disengagement" plan. We the undersigned declare: � The "development" plan furthers the confiscation of Palestinian Arab land, the demolition of thousands of homes and the forced evacuation of the Arab unrecognized villages, encourages step-by-step ethnic cleansing and reinforces the State of Israel's racially discriminatory policies. � "Development" in the Israeli lexicon means racism expressed through policies designed to destroy the presence of the Palestinian Arab citizens of the state. The primary purpose of the "development" plan is not development, in the literal sense of improving the space for the benefit of those living in it, but the complete removal of the Arab population from the space. This is clearly evident in government programs encouraging individual Israeli Jewish citizens to establish enormous ranches - far larger than are necessary for any conceivable purpose - on land adjacent to the Arab unrecognized villages. This policy serves no possible purpose other than to deny use of the lands to Arabs. � The most recent example of Israeli "development" is the destruction of 1,500 dunam of wheat belonging to residents of Sa'awa village in the Naqab on Sunday 17 April 2005. Israeli security forces destroyed these crops without even obtaining a court order for such action. Only two weeks before harvest, this destruction has deprived the villagers of their most important source of income. � The "disengagement" from Gaza will be an excuse to justify further destruction and confiscation of Palestinian land. One of the purposes of Ariel Sharon's visit to George Bush's ranch on 11 April 2005 was to ensure American support for the "development plan" of the Naqab and the Galilee. � Every dollar and Euro in support of the "disengagement" plan is support for Israeli racism, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs from their homes and the confiscation of their lands and property. The Palestinians living in Israel - who make up almost 20% of the Israeli citizenry - will pay the price for Sharon's "disengagement." � The Palestinians in Israel know, from our experience with "development" in the Galilee, that for Israel "development" means destruction of the Palestinian presence and "Judaization" of the space. Did the past "development" plan for the Galilee allow the residents of Biraam and Iqrit to return to their villages, rectifying a five-decades-old dispossession? Has it returned Muslim religious property to its rightful collective ownership? Did it reverse the massive land confiscations, or allow the establishment of even one new Palestinian Arab town or village since 1948? � The treatment of the Palestinians in Israel is not an internal Israeli issue to be dealt with in the confines of the sovereignty of the Israeli state. It requires immediate international attention. � These crimes are ongoing, and as such the international community is obligated not to participate in them. Financial support for the "disengagement" from Gaza and the "development" of the Naqab and Galilee is support for further attacks on the Palestinian citizens of Israel, their existence and their collective rights. We call for a refusal of international financial support for the "Development Plan of the Naqab and Galilee," and for the international community to protect the Palestinian community in Israel from the "development" plan by ensuring that it receives no financial backing. This call is directed primarily to the governments of the United States of America and the European Union, and to the United Nations. Without the support of these three international actors, the Israeli state cannot continue its illegal and destructive actions, especially not the "development" plans. Sincerely, The Undersigned The It's Israeli Racism, Not "Development" of the Galilee and Naqab (Negev) Petition to Governments of United States and European Union, and the United Nations was created by Ittijah - The Union of Arab Community-Based Associations and written by Ameer Makhoul, General Director ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form. Send this to a friend http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ittijah1/petition.html � 1999-2005 Artifice, Inc. - All Rights Reserved. _______________________________________________ Rad-Green mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green *** From: Justin Ruben, MoveOn PAC To: Christine Gonzalez Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 12:36 AM Subject: 180 rallies Wed. in all 50 states! Join us in Riverside, Laguna Beach, Ventura, Santa Ana, Long Beach, or Los Angeles Polls show growing frustration with Republican leaders' abuse of power, but they're still determined to break Senate rules. Our emergency rallies will demonstrate overwhelming opposition to their plan to stack the courts. Sign up now! Dear MoveOn member: Two important things happened today (Tuesday). The Washington Post published a poll which showed that, by a 2:1 margin, Americans oppose radical Republicans' plan to seize absolute power over the courts1-incredible news. Then Republican leader Bill Frist took to the Senate floor and vowed not to stop pushing until he's stripped Democrats of any say in judicial nominations.2 Each day this week is a race between the American people's growing frustration with Republicans' abuse of power, and Bill Frist's determination to break Senate rules anyway. At any time he could pull the trigger on the "nuclear option" if he thinks he has the votes to do it. That's why Wednesday's emergency Rallies to Stop the Judicial Takeover are so critical. MoveOn members have organized 180 rallies in all 50 states! A massive turnout tomorrow is the most powerful way we can demonstrate such overwhelming public opposition that Frist backs off for good. It might require leaving work a little early or driving farther than usual-but it's worth it. Sign up now for a rally in your region: Preserve the Filibuster! Federal Court house 3470 12th St Riverside, CA Wednesday, April 27, 5:00 PM http://www.moveonpac.org/event/judicialrallies/363 Downtown LA Rally to Stop the Right-Wing Judicial Takeover Los Angeles Federal Courthouse, 312 N. Spring St. 312 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, CA Wednesday, April 27, 5:00 PM http://www.moveonpac.org/event/judicialrallies/377 Keep the Courts Fair and Balanced! Orange County Court House 700 Civic Center Drive West Santa Ana, CA Wednesday, April 27, 5:00 PM http://www.moveonpac.org/event/judicialrallies/1070 DJ Rah-Jur's Courthouse Bash The Downtown Courthouse 415 W Ocean Blvd Long Beach, CA Wednesday, April 27, 5:00 PM http://www.moveonpac.org/event/judicialrallies/1086 Save our courts/No to the Nuclear Option Main Beach Coast Hwy/Ocean Laguna Beach, CA Wednesday, April 27, 6:00 PM http://www.moveonpac.org/event/judicialrallies/1318 Pro-Filibuster Ventura County Government Center Corner Telephone Rd and Victoria Ave Ventura, CA Wednesday, April 27, 12:00 AM http://www.moveonpac.org/event/judicialrallies/1333 To search for rallies in another area, click here: http://www.moveonpac.org/event/judicialrallies/ The growing public resistance to the "nuclear option" is due in no small measure to our work together: Hundreds of thousands of flyers, phone calls, letters to the editor, window signs, petition signatures, dollars donated to run ads and urgent water cooler conversations. But right-wing groups are mobilizing, and Frist is fighting back hard, twisting arms to win votes. Moderate Republicans need to hear from us now to counter growing pressure from party leaders, corporate donors and the extreme right. And Democrats who've suggested confirming some of Bush's blocked judges need to know we expect them to fight with all their strength to protect our courts -- and that we'll support them when they do. We've designed these rallies to be fun, interactive, and impactful. And to ensure our message gets out, volunteers have been inviting media. With a record turnout tomorrow, we can send a clear message straight to Washington that we are not willing to sacrafice our courts or our democracy-and we have the strength to win. It's up to you. Hope to see you tomorrow (Wednesday). Thanks for all that you do, -Justin, Jennifer, James, Wes and the MoveOn PAC Team Tuesday night, April 26th, 2005 SOURCES 1. "Filibuster Rule Change Opposed," Richard Morin and Dan Balz, Washington Post, 4/26/05 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=702 2. "Republicans Reject Offer On Judges," Charles Babington, Washington Post, 4/26/05 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=703 PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. *** From: Donna Warren Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 2:30 PM Subject: cold calls on your cell phone JUST A QUICK REMINDER...... In a few weeks, cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. You will be charged for these calls. Call this number from your cell phone 888-382-1222. It is the national DO NOT CALL list. It only takes a minute of your time. It blocks your number for 5 years. Please pass this on to everyone you know who doesn't want to be hassled. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? 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