Madison Rafah Journal

Defend the right to talk about boycott, divestment, and sanctions

Sydney Levy, Jewish Voice for Peace, August 24, 2009

On Thursday, August 20 the LA Times published an op-ed in which Ben Gurion University Professor Neve Gordon, a prominent political scientist and long-time peace activist, wrote that the question that kept him up at night, both as a parent and as an Israeli citizen, was how to ensure that his two children as well as the children of his Palestinian neighbors do not grow up in an apartheid regime. His pained conclusion is that the only strategy left is "massive international pressure" in the form of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). He therefore endorses the Palestinian BDS campaign proposed by a wide swath of Palestinian civil society. (1)

Following the publication of the article there has been a vehement and aggressive attack against Gordon in Israel that calls into serious question Israel's committment to academic freedom and the democratic right to free speech.

We now believe that "massive international pressure" will be needed to keep him from being fired from his job. Tell Ben Gurion University and the Israeli Minister of Education to defend academic freedom.

Prof. Gordon's endorsement of economic pressure offers what Naomi Klein termed "the most effective tools in the nonviolent arsenal" to address the Israeli occupation. (2)

(Read on …)

The New York Times, August 16, 2009

To the Editor:

Jonathan Tepperman says that Allis Radosh and Ronald Radosh display “a general sense of fair-mindedness (except perhaps toward the Arabs).” Sounds a bit like a book on the expansion of Europeans across North Ameri­ca that shows fair-mindedness to all parties, “except perhaps toward the Indians.”

PAUL BOYER
Madison, Wis.

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

Pressure to provide an 'additional perspective' on the movie

Jewish Voice for Peace

Jewish Voice for Peace welcomes the screening of the film Rachel at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. We are honored to co-sponsor the movie together with the American Friends Service Committee, and to hear comments from Cindy Corrie, Rachel Corrie's mother, at the conclusion of the film.

The movie–part of the festival's wider series on social justice and activism–tells the story of Rachel Corrie, a 23 year-old American peace activist, who was fatally run over by a bulldozer that the IDF was using to demolish houses in the Rafah Refugee Camp on March 16, 2003. This unfortunate event needs to be seen in the context of a long list of deaths and fatal injuries committed by the Israeli army against nonviolent demonstrators with almost complete impunity.

The San Francisco Film Festival has caved in to pressure to provide an 'additional perspective' on the movie, by inviting Dr. Michael Harris, of SF Voice for Israel, at the last minute to speak to the audience immediately prior to the screening.

Jewish Voice for Peace does not believe that the film needs an 'additional perspective.' The movie tells the story of an American nonviolent activist in Gaza. If anything, we would like to hear the seldom-heard perspective of a Palestinian in Gaza (were she or he allowed to leave the Gaza Strip, currently under siege by Israel for over two years.)

It's time to have a much needed dialogue inside of the Jewish community about the effects of the Israeli occupation. Dialogue works both ways. We hope that the next movie or event highlighting the positive elements of Israeli society while ignoring the cost to the Palestinians will be preceded by our Jewish Voice for Peace perspective.

(Read on …)

Why the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is showing Rachel

a film by Simone Bitton about Rachel Corrie, and inviting Cindy Corrie, Rachel Corrie’s mother, to the Festival:

1. The film Rachel is directed by veteran filmmaker Simone Bitton, a dual citizen of Israel and France. The documentary takes an unflinching look at the controversy surrounding the death of an American activist who was protesting Israeli military actions in Gaza. In the film, Bitton, through interviews with eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers and spokespeople, and others close to the tragedy, exposes new information about the incident which we believe makes for very worthwhile viewing, from both a journalistic and an aesthetic perspective. The film has already played in such prestigious festivals as the Berlin International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival (New York).

2. The film Rachel includes the viewpoints of people with a variety of opinions on the events which led to Ms. Corrie’s death. It includes interviews with Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Leibovitch, as well as doctors, activists, soldiers, Israeli and Palestinian civilians, and Rachel Corrie’s parents. The film also includes military video from the Israeli army.

3. As with all the films we show at SFJFF, we are presenting the views of the filmmakers and their subjects in what we hope is an atmosphere that encourages free expression and public debate. We regret that the filmmaker of Rachel could not be present to discuss the film personally, although we invited her to be here. Cindy Corrie, Rachel Corrie’s mother, is a subject of the documentary, and it is customary (and even expected by audiences) for documentary subjects to participate in Festival screenings. This kind of exchange has occurred throughout our Festival’s long history, and Cindy Corrie herself has addressed audiences at the Tribeca Film Festival, presentations in New York theaters, and other cultural forums. We wish to provide our audiences with the same opportunity. Her appearance at SFJFF is not intended to provide a political platform but rather to deepen the dialogue around the film. Cindy Corrie has publicly advocated for ensuring “justice, freedom, security and economic viability for both Israelis and Palestinians.” We think it will be an illuminating conversation.

4. We are presenting the film as part of a wider series on social justice and activism, and want our audience to have the benefit of a direct encounter with those who can help them understand Rachel Corrie’s motivations ‐ even if they don’t agree with them ‐ from a very personal standpoint. The filmmaker considers herself a film essayist rather than a reporter and desires the film to be viewed as an artistic statement as well as an investigation.

(Read on …)

Charly Wegman, Agence France Presse, 8 Aug 2009

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Club-wielding Israeli riot police evicted two Palestinian families from their homes in occupied east Jerusalem on Sunday, defying international protests over Jewish settlement activity in the area.

Clashes erupted after police moved in at dawn around the homes in the upmarket Arab district of Sheikh Jarrah following an Israeli court decision ordering the eviction of the 53 Palestinians, including 19 minors.

"I was born in this house and so were my children," said Maher Hanoun, whose family was evicted along with the neighbouring Ghawi household. "Now we are on the streets. We have become refugees."

The Supreme Court ordered the evictions following an appeal by the Nahalat Shimon International settler group which claimed Jewish settlers have title deeds for the properties, despite UN and Palestinian denials.

(Read on …)