NYCLAW -- New York City Labor Against the War NYCLAW Antiwar Bulletin December 29, 2008
NYCLAW Website <http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/> http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/ <http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/> Subscribe to NYCLAW Listserv <http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/subscribe-to-nyclaw-listserv/> http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/subscribe-to-nyclaw-listserv/ <http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/subscribe-to-nyclaw-listserv/> Past Editions <http://nyclawantiwarbulletin.wordpress.com/> http://nyclawantiwarbulletin.wordpress.com/ <http://nyclawantiwarbulletin.wordpress.com/> ------------------------------------------------------------------------\ ---------- Video of NYC Dec. 28 Protest http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/us291208.html CO-CONSPIRATORS Labor Party As chairman of the Labor Party, [Ehud Barak] is running for prime minister in the February elections and polls show him to be a distant third to the Likud leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Kadima leader, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/world/middleeast/29assess.html?hp White House "The United States understands that Israel needs to take actions to defend itself. Hamas has once again shown its true colors as a terrorist organization that refuses to even acknowledge Israel exists." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR200812\ 2900187.html [U.S. Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, looks at the remains of a rocket that landed in southern Israel in recent years during a visit to the house of the Amar family in Sderot, southern Israel, with Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak, center, Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Obama pledged Wednesday that as president he would preserve the close ties between the United States and Israel, and that the Jewish state's security would be a top priority in his administration. From AP Photo by JACK GUEZ.] Obama and Barak Obama (By Axelrod) "The president-elect was in Sderot last July, in southern Israel, a town that's taken the brunt of the Hamas attacks. And he said then that, when bombs are raining down on your citizens, there is an urge to respond and act and try and put an end to that. So, you know, that's what he said then, and I think that's what he believes." http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=1&docID=news-000003001059 [An Israeli Apache helicopter launches a missile during an attack inside the northern Gaza Strip on December 29, 2008 as seen from the Israeli-Gaza border. Twelve Palestinians were killed today and 30 more wounded in two fresh Israeli air raids in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, medics and witnesses said. The raids were carried out in Beit Lahia and Beit Hanun in the north of the battered territory, they said. From Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images.] Congress Israel received approval from Congress to purchase 1,000 units in September and defense officials said on Sunday that the first shipment had arrived earlier this month. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456505080&pagename=JPost%\ 2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Pelosi "When Israel is attacked, the United States must continue to stand strongly with its friend and democratic ally." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3645321,00.html P.A. [I]f the operation fails or leaves Hamas in the position of scrappy survivor or even somehow perceived victor, it could then dominate Palestinian politics over the more conciliatory and pro-Western Fatah movement for years to come. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/world/middleeast/29assess.html?hp ANATOMY OF A WAR CRIME Cheering Israeli Settlers "If I had opened an ice-cream stand here I would have made a lot money." http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1868858,00.html?xid=rss-wo\ rld Numbers Palestinian medical sources say at least 345 Gazans have been killed and another 1,450 wounded in three consecutive days of Israeli bombardment in the heavily-populated territory. . . . Four young girls from the same family in the northern town of Jabaliya and two young boy from Rafah were among those killed in the latest raids. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/2008122994140674153\ .html [Three Palestinian children from the Balosha family, of five who were all killed in the same Israeli missile strike, are seen in the morgue before their burial at Kamal Edwan hopsital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Dec. 29, 2008. Israel's overwhelming air campaign against the Gaza Strip inched closer to the territory's Hamas rulers as the assault entered its third day Monday, as missiles struck a house next to the Hamas premier's home and destroyed symbols of the Islamic movement's power. From AP Photo by EYAD BABA.] Holocaust I am in the middle of Gaza City, in the heart of Gaza City, and the situation is indescribable. If this is not a holocaust, I don't know what holocaust is. http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/29/israeli_attacks_kill_over_310_in Premeditated "People were walking through the streets just like a normal day, children coming home from school. Suddenly, without any warning, the bombing started. We didn't even see the jets in the sky. That's why so many people were killed." http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/29/israelandthepalestinians-mid\ dleeast Deliberate When you drop bombs on populated areas knowing there will be some "collateral" civilian damage, but accepting it as worth it, then it is deliberate. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/gaza-hamas-israel Knowing (via Livni) "[U]nfortunately in a war . . . sometimes also civilians pay the price." http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2008/12/29/world/international-us-palesti\ nians-israel.html Purposeful [Israel] worries that its enemies are less afraid of it than they once were, or should be. Israeli leaders are calculating that a display of power in Gaza could fix that. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/world/middleeast/29assess.html?hp Blitzkrieg The first bombardment took three minutes and 40 seconds. Sixty Israeli F-16 fighter jets bombed 50 sites in Gaza, killing more than 200 Palestinians, and wounding close to 1,000 more. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/israelandthepalestin\ ians-middleeast [A Palestinian man carries the body of his 4-year-old daughter Dena Balosha during the funeral for her and her four sisters in Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip December 29, 2008. Palestinian medics said five young sisters, one of them Dena Balosha, died in an air strike in Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza and three other young children were killed when a bomb struck a house aimed at the nearby abandoned home of a senior Hamas militant in Rafah. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.] Civilians In the course of a few short hours American-made, Israeli-flown fighter jets had successfully blotted out the lives of more than 230 people and by the end of the weekend over 300, the rough equivalence of two fully packed IMAX theaters. At least 70 of the victims were civilians, a number of them young children. http://counterpunch.org/loewenstein12292008.html More Civilians Israeli airstrikes hit the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University late Sunday night, causing minor injuries. A second missile attack struck a mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing seven people. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza29-2008dec29,0,1\ 214216.story [JABALIA, GAZA STRIP - DECEMBER 29: Samera Baalusha (34) (R) carries her surving child Mohamad (15 months) while crying over the body of her daughter Jawaher Baalusha (4) during the her funeral held with her other four sisters, 'three children and two teenagers', who were killed in an Israeli missile strike, during their funeral on December 29, 2008 in the Jebaliya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip. Jawher and four of her sisters from the Baalusha family were killed during an Israeli air raid while they were sleeping together in their bedroom. Medics stated that the raid had targeted a mosque near their home in Jabalia. Israeli Air Force warplanes continued heavy strikes in the Hamas ruled Gaza Strip for a third consecutive day with over 300 Palestinians reported to have been killed and over 2000 injured in the air raids. From Getty Images.] Children The fatalities included 22 children younger than 16; more than 235 children were wounded. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/28/AR200812\ 2802111.html Hospitals One doctor said that given the dearth of facilities, not much could be done for the seriously wounded, and that it was "better to be brought in dead." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/world/middleeast/30mideast.html?_r=1&h\ p Terror "After each airstrike, my sons ask me: 'Why are we targeted? Will they arrest us? Will they come after us?'" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/28/AR200812\ 2802111.html Scale [T]he scale of the bloodshed - rank[s] in Palestinian history alongside the 1948 Deir Yassin killings or the Sabra and Shatila massacres (by Israel's Christian Lebanese allies) in 1982. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/29/israel-attack-hamas-preparat\ ions-repercussions MYTH-BUSTING: HAMAS ROCKETS No Pretense "The army doesn't even have the pretense of neutralizing Hamas' ability to launch rockets." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-israel-analysis29-20\ 08dec29,0,3905805.story Makeshift The makeshift projectiles are wildly inaccurate and rarely cause deaths or serious injuries. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza29-2008dec29,0,1\ 214216.story Few Casualties Over the last seven years only 17 Israeli citizens have been killed by Palestinian rocket fire. http://counterpunch.org/frank12292008.html Underdog's Weapon The Palestinians would not have ever bombed cafes or used home-made missiles if they had tanks and airplanes. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/gaza-hamas-israel [Israeli soldiers stand near armoured military vehicles at a staging area just outside the northern Gaza Strip December 29, 2008. Israeli aircraft attacked Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip for a third day on Monday and militants launched a fatal rocket attack on Israel in defiance of an offensive that has killed more than 300 Palestinians. >From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.] South African Leaders: No Equivalence There can be no moral equivalence between the fourth most powerful army in the world (whose armaments include nuclear weapons) and an occupied people fighting for their survival to prevent a complete genocide against them. http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/psc271208.html MYTH-BUSTING: TRUCE What Was It? [W]hat is Israel's idea of a truce? It is very simple: Palestinians have the right to remain silent while Israel starves them, kills them and continues to violently colonise their land. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/israel-gaza-attack-p\ alestinian-reaction Who Broke It? [T]here was relative quiet during the six-months truce with Hamas, a quiet that was broken most often as a reaction to Israeli violence: that is, following the extra-judicial execution of a militant or the imposition of a total blockade which prevented basic goods, like food stuff and medicine, from entering the Gaza Strip. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/israelandthepalestin\ ians-middleeast WORLDWIDE PROTEST AND RESISTANCE [Palestinian demonstrators take cover from tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during a protest in the West Bank city of Hebron against the Israeli offensive in Gaza December 29, 2008. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.] Hebron Palestine '48 In the presence of all national alliances, an urgent meeting for the Follow up Committee was held today declaring Sunday 28 December 2008 a general strike in protest of the Israeli massacres committed against Palestinians in Gaza. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10062.shtml [Palestinian boys throw stones towards an Israeli army jeep (rear-R) during clashes with Israeli forces in the Shufat refugee camp in Jerusalem on December 29, 2008. Demonstrators across the world are protesting against Israel's deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which as killed at least 345 people. From Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images.] Jerusalem Shopkeepers in the West Bank and in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem shut their doors in a near-total protest strike. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza29-2008dec29,0,1\ 214216.story [A Palestinian flag flutters in the wind, as people protest in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Monday, Dec. 29, 2008. Tens of thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah supporters poured into the streets south of Beirut to protest Israel's air assault on targets in the Gaza Strip. From AP Photo by Mahmoud Tawil.] Lebanon Jordan 5,000 lawyers marched toward parliament to demand the Israeli ambassador's expulsion. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/29/israel-attacks-middle-reacti\ on [Demonstrators protest against the Israeli air strikes in Gaza, in front of the journalists' syndicate in Cairo December 29, 2008. Israeli aircraft destroyed a bastion of Hamas's rule over the Gaza Strip on Monday, the third day of an offensive that has killed more than 300 Palestinians in the deadliest violence in the territory in decades. >From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.] Cairo South African Labor "Cosatu reiterates its call for the government of South Africa to break diplomatic ties with Apartheid Israel and institute sanctions against it." http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2446282,00.\ html [Protestors hold up placards and a Palestinian flag during a demonstration in Berlin December 29, 2008, against Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip. Several hundred people took part in the march, police said. The placards read 'Freedom for Palestine' and 'Stop the masacre in Gaza'. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.] Berlin Paris About 1,400 people marched in Paris, most of them in the northern Barbes neighborhood, which has a large Muslim population. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza29-2008dec29,0,1\ 214216.story [Palestinians from Switzerland chant slogans and carry banners reading: "Freedom for Gaza. No to the siege" during a protest against Israel's air assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Dec 29, 2008. The demonstrators protest against the Israeli reaction on Gaza which has killed and wounded hundreds of Palestinians. From AP Photo by MARTIAL TREZZINI.] Switzerland British Universities As long as the state of Israel continues to defy humanity and international law, we, the citizens of the world, commit ourselves to boycotting Israel. http://www.bricup.org.uk/GazaEmergency.html [Thousands of Sudanese students and Palestinians living in Sudan demonstrate against the Israeli air strikes in Gaza as they hold a poster of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh outside the U.N. headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, Dec. 29, 2008. From AP Photo by Abd Raouf.] Sudan [NEW YORK - DECEMBER 29: Protesters demonstrate against recent bombings by aircraft in the Gaza strip by the Israeli government December 29, 2008 in New York City. Israel continued its air campaign against the Gaza Strip for the third day today, as missiles struck targets and wreaked unprecedented destruction in Gaza, reducing buildings to rubble. Israel claims they were responding to continual missile attacks and has been amassing ground troops on the border of Gaza in preparation for a possible ground invasion. The death toll of over 300 victims, and about 1,400 wounded, continues to rise. From Getty Images by Spencer Platt.] New York City [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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