Young Palestinians Call For Protests On March 15

The Guardian:

Their movement has no name and no leaders. Just a goal, and a tool.

The goal is to force an end to the political divisions among Palestinians by stirring the youth of Gaza and the West Bank to emulate their brothers and sisters in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

Their tool -- as elsewhere -- is the internet, specifically Facebook. "End The Division", a page in both Arabic and English, calls for protests across the Palestinian territories and refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon on 15 March. It has already got thousands of supporters, and is growing by the day.

Read the whole story: The Guardian

Comments

[BestGuest]

04:44 PM on 02/25/2011

LOL

"Group of young Israelis, chosen by Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs to go on a speaking tour of the US."

http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/02/bds-israel-organizes-speaking-tour-in.html

[Json]

05:44 PM on 02/25/2011

I just KNOW that this is on-topic in some way that is completely eluding me.

[StCuthbert]

02:58 PM on 02/25/2011

Palestinian protester burns picture of Obama

[Atomizer]

04:16 PM on 02/25/2011

I can't blame him given the fact that this administration like all previous ones has callously abandondened the Palestinians in the face of highly aggressive lobbying from AIPAC et al.

And if you want to see some truly disgusting anti-Obama sentiments you don't need to go as far afield as a lone protester in Palestine. Here's a video showing 1,500 pro-Israel extremists holding a demonstration in New York to attack Obama for taking a stand against settlement building. Check it out and let us know if you agree with these people StCuthbert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R611drTEHPA&feature=related

[Nwo2012]

06:29 PM on 02/26/2011

Wow. I watched it all. Those guys are off the chart.

I loved the reaction from they guy when he was asked what should Israel do with the Palestinians? He stood there like a goldfish. He looked like he'd been asked to explain the latest advances in Quantum Physics or something. Total bemusement.

It video kinda makes StCuthberts link look a bit..well...unrestrained?

[BestGuest]

04:35 PM on 02/25/2011

Should they be sending him halva instead?

[John Robbins]

02:04 PM on 02/25/2011

(1) These protests are unlikely to work:

Gaza's Islamist rulers hounding secular community
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/25/AR2011022500824.html

(2) Most of these "peaceful secular democratic" movements are not peaceful, nor secular, nor democratic; That is just what the sycophantic cloying whitewashing Western Media wants to claim. They are really about power and violence. The protestors are desperate to live in despotic theocracies and to do as much killing of nonMuslims (or Muslims from other sects) as possible.

So...I am not impressed, to say the least.

[BestGuest]

04:41 PM on 02/25/2011

Im sure the thought of pro |$rae|i dictators and collaborators toppling all over the place is worrying for you…

[John Robbins]

11:03 AM on 02/26/2011

No. My main concern is that people get to live free, with some measure of human rights and human decency. And that they do not try to kill me because I happen to come from the same country that produced McDonald's, television, cell phones, computers, the internet, etc.

[nicholas b]

11:21 AM on 02/25/2011

Palestinian youth in Gaza and the WB are drawing the fundamental lesson from current uprisings elsewhere - namely, that military might and massacre alone cannot guarantee the survival of a regime any longer. They can use this to transcend the impasse between Hamas and Fatah and other secular forces on the West Bank to create new movements based on common identity and social/economic development in both regions. However empowerment is also about having the capacity to resist, so by definition what they will create will be an attempt to overcome the occupation, exploitation and blockade.

[Cannonball Taffy O Jones]

01:34 PM on 02/25/2011

Since when has Hamas been ‘secular’?

[BestGuest]

04:52 PM on 02/25/2011

Since |$rae| has a fundamenta list government , should the world demand it's ouster and throw sanctions on the country?

Or would that be anti-semetic ;)

[nicholas b]

01:04 PM on 02/26/2011

That wasn't my intention to imply that, what I was intending to say was "Hamas and Fatah/other secular forces" meaning Hamas and other secular groups aside from Fatah.

[Darcha]

10:20 AM on 02/25/2011

As someone who watches language change for a living, I got curious about the neologism here of 'palsbara'. As many will already know, the word is derived from 'hasbara', from the Hebrew word for 'explanation'. As many will also know, the term has been applied to propaganda efforts by the Israeli government and its supporters as a form of public diplomacy. Since the methods used in hasbara have been spelled out--most notoriously in the 'Hasbara Handbook' (http://www.middle-east-info.org/take/wujshasbara.pdf)--the term has taken on a pejorative sense that has proven embarrassing to Israel apologists. Hence the desire to call create the neologism so as to paint supporters of Palestinian rights as being as Goebbelsesque as themselves. In the event, I googled the terms. 'Palsbara' gets 1,200 hits. Some of these are from Icelandic sites or other such accidents of Google searches. The only true hits come from a blog called 'Brothers of Judea', HP posters 'St. Cuthbert', 'LonelyGod', 'hpmonitor' and 'elderofziyon'. 'Palsbara' also has no Wikipedia entry. 'Hasbara' on the other hand gets 291,000 hits and two Wikipedia entries. As a professional linguist, I can only conclude that 'hasbara' is a real word and that 'palsbara' is a word that is dying on the vine, probably from lack of sunlight down there is momma's basement.

[enderM]

01:02 PM on 02/25/2011

thank u for that dissertation.....now, what on earth does any of that have to do with the article?

[gibranII]

02:05 PM on 02/25/2011

everything and anything... why you ask.. is because if you have to continously defend and deflect the undefensible you have to ask what is the motivation when you clearly see that Palestinians have been demonized from a variety of points.. media and news....movies and print.. and here you have students wanting to break free of the old and radical guards and they do not get the support of the other people in the region.. so this from is the proof of hasbara...becuase why else would those who have the potential to seek peace get dismissed if they scare the practioners of status qou..

[Darcha]

02:44 AM on 02/26/2011

Why the dissertation? 'Palsbara' was used in the thread. It got me curious. I investigated. I found interesting results. I shared. The point is that the hasbara effort exists, has methods that are clearly spelled out whose aim is to PREVENT discussion and it is present on these threads. I don't like the overuse of 'hasbara', but when a comment is simply a restatement of one of the themes listed in the handbook or simply one of the techniques described in the handbook, then I'm for calling a spade a spade.

As for the anti-Jewish nature of any of the posts here. If someone chooses to make the terms 'Jewish' and 'Israeli' synonymous, then they are bound to see anti-Semitism where there is, in fact, none. That is completely their problem. Israel has committed vile actions throughout its creation and expansion. It is based on an ethno-supremacist ideology that shares genetic roots with its German nationalist cousin. Calling that spade a spade is not anti-Semitism.

[Json]

01:46 PM on 02/25/2011

Obviously there is no denying the "hasbara" is indeed a word in hebrew.
But the way it is tossed around in places like HP is has an added negative connotation.
When you see someone say "Oh...that's just hasbara", they aren't saying "Oh...that's an explanation". There are calling what you just said propaganda at best, and an outright lie at worst.

The is nothing "Goebbelses­que" inherent in the true meaning of hasbara and I find it somewhat interesting that that is how you perceive it. But if a personal opinion voiced by someone who is pro-israeli is instantly labeled as "hasbara' and dismissed, then it seems fair that there should be an equivalent term to describe the talking points (propaganda?) coming from the other side.

However, my preference would be to stop such behavior from both sides. Even if you disagree with a pro-israel commenter, you don't need to call it hasbara. Even if you disagree with an anti-israeli commenter, you don't need to call it palsbara.
There are plenty of other words you can use to express your disagreement without trying to delegitmize the person making the comment.

[Darcha]

02:47 AM on 02/26/2011

In the eight 'Principles of Israel Advocacy' included in The Hasbara Handbook (http://www.middle-east-info.org/take/wujshasbara.pdf), the 'Seven Basic Propaganda Devices' are one 'principle'. They are listed as 'name calling', 'glittering generality', 'transfer', 'testimonial', 'plain folks', 'fear' and 'bandwagon'. They are listed as tools. Hasbara, no matter the literal meaning of the original word, has nothing to do with the explanation of facts. It is Goebbelsesque propaganda.

[Bm Jain]

10:11 AM on 02/25/2011

The political situation in the Middle East is extremely volatile, which might have gargantuan fallout on the existing international system, already characterized as an anarchical one, in economic, trade and strategic terms. Both the key international actors and the world community must put their heads together to find out ways and means to help defuse the grave crisis facing the entire region. Though the UN Secretary General Ban K-Moon has appealed for an extreme restraint and patience, mere appeals will do little to tide over the catastrophe. A well planned and well coordinated and well integrated strategy at the international level, without narrow political, strategic and cultural considerations, is the imperative to find out both a short and long term solution before the situation goes out of control.

[Vlady]

01:55 PM on 02/25/2011

The UN Secretary General Ban K-Moon and his organization are completely irrelevant to the vast majority of world events including ME unrest

[BestGuest]

06:23 AM on 02/25/2011

Erewhon7, I could not reply to your statement (no reply option) so im posting a bit of the convo here in hopes that you would read it…

You said:
""Certinaly, let's hope for the best.
If and when current despots in Gaza,Iran, Libya, Syria, Jordan etc. are removed let's hope a a fundamenta l shift begins to occur in cultural, religious and political procliviti es.It will take a long time, if ever.
Cultures don't change in a year, or even a decade.""

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There will be no shift in cultural religious procliviti es, only difference would be that political aspiration s of the people will be realized.

How mentally challenged do you take the world to be when u STILL go around saying things like cultures must change.

Instead you should be busy cleaning the pie off your faces after the 3gypt|ans sent your carefully built hasbara about the "Savages" to the trash can where it belongs….

Not to say you should not be worried. In fact u should be really scared. Chickens are coming home to roost…..

[BestGuest]

05:52 AM on 02/25/2011

There has been a careful, yet shamelessly blatant, division of the Pa|3stinian people since the elections where Hamas won the election and created their legitimate govt. "Allowing" the elections was another blunder (one of a long long list) by the U$/|$rae|/$aud| troika of stranglehold in that they underestimated and misread the P@|3stinian sentiment… What followed played in nicely to the designs of divide and conquer.

With their PA puppets the U$/|$rae|/$aud| troika have managed to marginalize Hamas and the P@|estinians aspirations of independence… While Hamas is no angel, it's anger against |$rae| is understandable in the context of the silent coup the latter perpetrated against the former….

This entire seemingly carefully (actually dumbly) constructed house of cards is about to fall in on itself. The Pa|3stinian people know this design as do others that follow this region without rose tinted glasses. They will soon be united again….

With Moobarak out of 3gypt, whose gonna let the attack dogs on the P@|3stinians now… The 3gypt|an people are also watching their new (i think temporary) regime closely to see how they deal with |$rae|. They will not take subservience anymore (as evident in the one week celebration in Tahrir square).

|$rae|'s hegemony in the region as it stood, if not over already, is about to come to an end.

[drjasonmd]

03:25 AM on 02/25/2011

Oh boy here it comes!!

[babybecks]

09:35 PM on 02/24/2011

Part of what keeps these groups separate, is the physical geography. Most countries have more than 1 political party, and they are not different in this aspect. But the inability to mingle and move around, prevents assimilation of thoughts and ideas.

Keeping the territories divided, and factions at odds, obviously benefits people who point to the individual ideas about governance, as their inability to govern themselves. This will always be the reason given that they should not formally be recognized.

Since the geographical/freedom of movement issue will not change in the foreseeable future (if ever) something must. It's good the young people recognize this. Hopefully the leaders on both sides will hear them. I wish them a HUGE turnout and a successful and peaceful protest.

[Sam Bark]

02:34 AM on 02/25/2011

babybecks -- what keeps them separate is their ideology and lack of civility in their political wrangling…. Hamas did not take over Gaza by a simple election, it pursue a forceful removal of Fatah operative in Gaza, and the PA return the favor in the West Bank….. so the geography separation may be about 15 miles, but the dictatorship and quest for power is limitless.

[drjasonmd]

03:26 AM on 02/25/2011

Actually, it was Fatah (with US and Israeli backing) that tried to forcefully remove Hamas.

They failed.

[BestGuest]

06:02 AM on 02/25/2011

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804?currentPage=1

[theuniversalcollective]

07:10 PM on 02/24/2011

As long as Hamas controls Gaza it is lost to the Palestinian cause and will continue to drag it down as the boat anchor of terrorism and rats nest of Persian puppetry that it has been since the "elections", Hamas will never give up it's hold on the Strip without a fight, so ....... best of luck with that. It'll be interesting to see if the Palestinians can eschew the yoke of their own self imposed insanity. I do hope they are triumphant.

[Avirahim]

08:23 PM on 02/24/2011

"As long as Hamas controls Gaza"

"The UN, Human Rights Watch and many other international bodies and NGOs consider Israel to be the occupying power of the Gaza Strip as Israel controls Gaza's airspace and territorial waters, and does not allow the movement of goods in or out of Gaza by air or sea.[16][17][18] Israel states that Gaza is no longer occupied, inasmuch as Israel does not exercise effective control or authority over any land or institutions in the Gaza Strip.[19][20] Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel Tzipi Livni stated in January, 2008: “Israel got out of Gaza. It dismantled its settlements there. No Israeli soldiers were left there after the disengagement.”[21]

After Israel withdrew in 2005, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas stated, "the legal status of the areas slated for evacuation has not changed."[19] Palestinian American attorney Gregory Khalil said “Israel still controls every person, every good, literally every drop of water to enter or leave the Gaza Strip. Its troops may not be there... but it still restricts the ability for the Palestinian authority to exercise control.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip#Israeli_control_.281967.E2.80.931994.29

[notavi]

08:46 PM on 02/24/2011

Its civilian citizens are not there,either!

[squiems]

10:55 PM on 02/24/2011

that's probably among the silliest of all the silly palsbara talking points.

[notavi]

05:28 PM on 02/24/2011

Greg Abbott suggests that the Palestinians.."need to get rid of the Israelis" in a post below! Tell us HOW they will do that,Greg. By defeating the IDF? LOL! Folks..the response will probably be well worth waiting for!

[Avirahim]

06:01 PM on 02/24/2011

" Tell us HOW they will do that,Greg. By defeating the IDF? LOL"

The whole concept behind non-violent protest is a mystery to you, isn't?

[Cannonball Taffy O Jones]

07:22 PM on 02/24/2011

Given their history the concept of non-violence seems to be lost on the Palestinians as well.

[notavi]

08:36 PM on 02/24/2011

For the Arabs called Palestinians, the answer is yes,it's a mystery! It is they,not me, who call for" Days of Rage".....Hardly peaceful! Shalom!

[greg abbott]

06:21 PM on 02/24/2011

Why does the IDF like to shoot unarmed civilians?



Because they don't shoot back

[Cannonball Taffy O Jones]

07:09 PM on 02/24/2011

Would that be the IDF that has defeated soldiers from every Arab state time and again?

[notavi]

08:38 PM on 02/24/2011

They prefer making martyrs out of Arabs with guns and rocket launchers, Greg!

[Dexter35]

05:28 PM on 02/24/2011

You are such a racist; I do not know how they let you post here...

[notavi]

08:42 PM on 02/24/2011

Speak for yourself! I dislike all people who would like to see Israel exterminated ..even many Christians posting here who hate Israel!

[notavi]

08:43 PM on 02/24/2011

Why does stating a FACT about Lawrence make me a racist??

[Avirahim]

06:04 PM on 02/24/2011

"Lawrence of Arabia could NOT get the Arabs to work together!"

TE Lawrence, wasn't working to "get the Arabs to work together", do you even know what is true role was?

[notavi]

08:44 PM on 02/24/2011

Yes..to get the Arabs together to defeat the Turks at Akaba!

[greg abbott]

05:01 PM on 02/24/2011

Tonight on Charlie Rose 'Juliana' for Bloomberg just said the Obama administration's thinking of our reactions to the Arab Revolution is beginning to listen more to Samantha Power and other 'new thinking' and that the old-timers like Dennis 'Israel's Lawyer' Ross are being sidelined.

That's extraordinarily good news if true

The Neocons have been a decade long disaster and need to be deep-sixed - all of them.
I would love to see Obama get behind the Palestinians.

Power sure called hit the nail on the head when she insulted Clinton a couple of years ago - Clinton needs to go take a quiet vacation for a few months somewhere along with Dennis Ross and let Samantha loose on American foreign policy

[notavi]

05:07 PM on 02/24/2011

New thinking? You mean leftist Liberation Theologists!!

[greg abbott]

05:21 PM on 02/24/2011

What have you done with Sirhanrap! - I had gotten! used to ignoring! him completely!

[enderM]

01:26 PM on 02/25/2011

"The Neocons have been a decade long disaster and need to be deep-sixed - all of them."

"deep-sixed"? what exactly do u meanGreg?