Madison Rafah Journal

ARON HELLER, Associated Press, March 9, 2010

JERUSALEM – Vice President Joe Biden condemned an Israeli plan to build hundreds of homes in disputed east Jerusalem on Tuesday, casting a cloud over a high-profile visit that had been aimed at repairing ties with the Jewish state and kickstarting Mideast peace talks.

Israel's Interior Ministry said late Tuesday that it had approved construction of 1,600 new apartments, an embarrassing setback for Biden after a day of warm meetings with top Israeli officials.

Although ministry officials said the announcement was procedural and unconnected to the visit, a top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was blindsided and tried to contain the damage at a late-night dinner with Biden.

Nonetheless, Biden issued a harshly worded statement after the dinner, saying its timing was especially troubling by coming on the eve of a new round of U.S.-mediated peace talks.

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Intelligence Squared US, February 9, 2010

PRE-DEBATE VOTE:
FOR: 33% AGAINST: 42% UNDECIDED: 25%

POST-DEBATE VOTE:
FOR: 49% AGAINST: 47% UNDECIDED: 4%

Israel believes America's special relationship is vital. It is, certainly, to Israel. But what about for the US? Israel has no oil, enemies in many places, and a tendency to defy Washington when it perceives its own interests to be threatened, which is not infrequently.

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Jewish Voice for Peace, 11 February 2010

Midnight arrests. Defamation of human rights organizations. Expulsion of journalists. Human rights demonstrations broken up with violence. Censored films. Confiscated laptops.

That's just a fraction of the reality on the ground in Israel/Palestine that stands in contrast to the official story about 'the only democracy in the Middle East.'

That's the story we hear when AIPAC tries to justify the billions of dollars in military aid Israel receives. That's the story many of us grew up with.

But something is happening in Israel. The success of the Palestinian nonviolent resistance movement has led to a crackdown on Palestinians and those who support them that is unlike anything we've seen before.

In fact, on a recent trip to Israel/Palestine, activists on the ground who we work with said they needed our help. They said: "Please help us get the word out. The crackdown is growing worse by the day, yet most of what happens is invisible to the media, policymakers, and individuals. We need you to make these stories visible so we can work together to stop what's happening."

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Mr. Judt was a committed left-wing Zionist as a teenager. He spent summers in Israel on a kibbutz and was active in the Jewish youth movement. But he later soured on the Zionists’ utopian vision. As he recounts of the time he spent with young soldiers, “the insouciance with which they anticipated their future occupation and domination of Arab lands terrified me even then.”

Mr. Judt has been quoted frequently on the Palestine-Israel conflict, especially the US Israel lobby, in the Madison Rafah Journal.

PATRICIA COHEN, The New York Times, February 8, 2010

In one of the short personal reminiscences that the historian Tony Judt has been writing for The New York Review of Books he mentions that he was part of the “lucky generation” born in the affluent West after World War II, free to indulge in daydreams and passions.

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On January 21, 2010 54 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama calling for an end to the Gaza blockade by Israel and Egypt. You can thank Tammy Baldwin for signing this letter and supporting an end to the suffering in Gaza here.

Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss, February 4, 2010

Israel lobbyists are calling the 54 brave congresspeople who signed the letter to Obama against the Gaza blockade "the gang of 54," and trying to light a fire under em. One of them has cold feet. From Arutz Sheva wire:

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The message below is from Cassandra Dixon, who is about to leave for Palestine for a two-month stay in the West Bank with Christian Peacemaker Teams, accompanying Palestinians to deter attacks by settlers. (I hope that Cassandra will be allowed into Palestine, since earlier this month, two people who were scheduled to lead a CPT delegation were arrested at the Israeli airport, deported and told they could not return for 10 years. Two CPT members were similarly turned away last fall (more on that story).

If you would like to be on Cassandra's e-mail list for updates while she is in Palestine, please contact her at chrepairs(at)yahoo.com.

Note that she is also in need of support for this trip.

Thanks,
Barb Olson

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