News

Life behind barbed wire in Gaza

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  • Date 19.10.2012
  • Author Tania Krämer / sms
  • Editor Ben Knight

Though local elections are slated for the West Bank, Palestinians in Gaza won’t be casting ballots. Hamas, which controls Gaza, has boycotted the elections, leaving the 1.6 million people there in a difficult position.

Between piles of used spare parts and a container of motor oil, Munzer Al Dayya is working on a generator. The mechanic is a popular man in Gaza City, where power can go out for as long as eight hours a day, and he said he’s earning a decent living thanks to the blackouts.

“Every day that we get through is good, but no one knows what’s coming,” he said. “The only thing that’s clear is that the next day will be worse than the previous day. Why, how, and for what? Who knows? No one can explain what’s going on here.”

Al Dayya said getting an explanation for what’s happening in Gaza City depends on who you ask. But one thing is clear – Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and has expanded its control since taking power five years ago. Neither an Israeli blockade nor the US and European isolation policy has been able to change this.

Hamas, labeled a terrorist group by the West, has developed its own bureaucratic structures, ranging from an administration to an all-round security service. Various observers have noted that the political separation between Gaza and the West Bank has been widened by the separate governing structures in the two regions.

No local elections in Gaza

Local elections scheduled to take place in the West Bank on Saturday are expected to widen the gap. Hamas is not taking part in the poll, leaving voters there to choose between the Fatah party and some independent candidates.

“The elections cannot be transparent and fair,” said Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum. “Many of our Hamas leaders and members are in prisons run by the Palestinian Authority. These are Fatah elections – not Palestinian elections.”

Read more http://www.dw.de/life-behind-barbed-wire-in-gaza/a-16318900

After Zionism at the World Matters Literary Festival 20 October

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Saturday 20 October

Session 4

3 .15 pm – 4.15 pm: After Zionism Making Peace with Palestine

The Israel/Palestine ‘peace process’ has failed and the occupation has never been more pervasive. The prospect of a two-state solution, a position advocated by all Western countries, is increasingly criticised as being at odds with the realities of the conflict. Antony Loewenstein and Ahmed Moor have  co-edited a new collection of essays which present the world’s leading writers on ways to achieve the only democratic outcome in the Middle East, a one-state solution. Samah Sabawi, co author of Journey to Peace in Palestine, playwright and advisor to Palestinian policy network, Al Shabaka, will contribute to the conversation. According to Samah , “peace is not just the absence of violence but the presence of justice.”

Chair: Hilary McPhee

For more information visit http://worldmatters.weebly.com/after-zionism-making-peace.html

 

Gaza deaf restaurant a chance to change perceptions

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Sydney Morning Herald

October 19, 2012 – 10:16AM

The stylish Atfaluna restaurant near Gaza port stands out in a city with few facilities for the disabled. Waiters and cooks use sign language, guests point to selections from the menu and what ensues is a spontaneous form of communication that organizers hope will break down bias and barriers.

“Deaf people have determination and there are no worries except when it comes to communication, the language problem. At first we may get translators to help us with the speaking clients,” supervisor Ayat Imtair said in sign language.

After six months of training with her staff, she was confident the service would go smoothly.

“This is a call on the community, and a working chance for the deaf to help them engage with the community,” she signed.

Twenty years ago Palestinian attitudes to deaf people were negative, said Naeem Kabaja, director of Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children in Gaza, which runs the restaurant.

“It was perceived by many as a mental disability. But we’ve been able to change that and it has since improved, through our work, the spread of sign language, activities by the deaf and raising public awareness about this disability,” he said.

Still, Kabaja said, many of the deaf themselves tend to shy away from engagement with broader society, afraid of communications obstacles and expecting little understanding.

The staff of 12 were enthusiastic on opening day.

“We’re excited. There might be some difficulty at the start but we will overcome it. We’re all trained in lip-reading and that will help us take orders,” said cook Niveen, preparing a dish of spicy chicken balls.

The restaurant was established with help from the Drosos Foundation of Switzerland to promote income generation by the deaf in Gaza, where the unemployment rate is over 25 per cent.

About 1 percent of Gaza’s 1.6 million people suffer from total or near-total deafness. They can attend school up to ninth grade but have no opportunity to go on to a university education in the territory, said Sharhabeel Al-Zaeem of Atfaluna.

“Unfortunately they have to leave Gaza for that,” Al-Zaeem said. “We are doing out utmost to make special classes for the deaf in universities. We are liaising with different universities to see if there is a chance for the deaf to get places.

Reuters   http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/startup/gaza-deaf-restaurant-a-chance-to-change-perceptions-20121019-27v4e.html#ixzz29hx0sGS5

ChicoER.com: Art exhibit examines Israel-Palestinian conflict through children’s eyes

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CHICO — “‘Keeping Hope Alive — Life and Culture in Occupied Palestine'” is a series of events including film, dance, poetry, folk art, traditional Palestinian food and more,” explained Emily Alma, a representative from Chico State University’s Cross-Cultural Leadership Center, in an interview last week.The presentational series, which begins Monday and runs through Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, is a multi-media exploration of Palestinian culture. The series is free of charge and will primarily be held at the CCLC in Ayers Hall.”The presentations integrate information about Palestinian culture with life in the West Bank and Gaza under Israeli occupation,” said Alma.  Read more Art exhibit examines Israel-Palestinian conflict through children’s eyes

Ship to Gaza Sweden

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We are sailing!

Publiceringsdatum:
2012-10-01

The port authorities in La Spezia in northern Italy finally decided to not give in to Israeli  pressure. Just minutes ago Ship to Gaza and its vessel Estelle got final clearance to depart from port. Credit to the responsible officials who showed integrity and a sense of justice!

We were beginning to recognise the pattern from last years Flotilla all too well, when a Greek government under pressure took the decision to detain all Flotilla boats in Greek ports.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has already confirmed that it is pressuring those countries whose citizens are on board to prevent them from “approaching” Gaza. If “approaching” Gaza includes sailing from La Spezia to Napoli, that would have been a serious violation of one of the EU’s basic principles: freedom of movement.

It would be unacceptable for the EU to cave in to such pressure, turning against its own citizens and vessels. It is especially serious when such actions are taken against a peaceful, humanitarian action which enjoys wide public and political support. That support is currently being demonstrated in our petition to end the illegal and inhumane blockade of Gaza, which has been signed by thousands of people from all over the world in the last few days .

Ship to Gaza and our partners in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition urge each one of our supporters to follow S/V Estelles journey, and if necessary act in their respective roles and areas: sympathizers, local activists, support organizations, union organizations, EU parliamentarians and national parliamentarians.

Use any resources available to you to protest the Israeli government’s attempt to expand its blockade to ports in northern Italy. Ask your respective foreign ministers questions, and do the same to the EU through the EU Parliament. Conduct support actions to demand that Estelle stays free to sail.

End the blockade of Gaza!

Contacts onboard Estelle:

Victoria Strand + 46 727356564

Mikael Löfgren: +46 707983643

Ship to Gaza-Sweden

www.shiptogaza.se

Spokespersons:

Dror Feiler: +46 702855777

Mattias Gardell: +46 703036666

Ann Ighe: +46 709740739

Victoria Strand + 46 727356564

Media coordinator:

Mikael Löfgren: +46 707983643

Staffan Granér: +46703549687

media@shiptogaza.se

Website:  http://shiptogaza.se/en/Pressrum/Pressmeddelanden/we-are-sailing

EI: Canadians stand in solidarity with Gaza’s besieged farmers, fishermen Eva Bartlett The Electronic Intifada Gaza City 1 October 2012

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GAZA CITY (IPS) – “From the coast to eight miles out, the sea is like a desert: it’s sandy and there are no fish,” said Mohammed al-Bakri, tracing a thick line on the wall map before him.

As the general manager of Gaza’s Union of Agricultural Work Committees, al-Bakri is well-versed in the woes of Gaza’s fishermen and farmers. “The Israeli navy attacks the fishermen, arrests them and takes their boats, even within three miles,” he said, referring to the limit the Israeli authorities have unilaterally imposed on Palestinian fishermen.

Under the Oslo accords, Palestinian fishermen are authorized to fish 20 nautical miles into Gaza’s sea. The Israeli authorities have illegally downsized Palestinian fishing waters, using lethal violence to enforce new restrictions on fishing. Palestinian fishermen are routinely attacked by the Israeli navy, using machine guns, water cannons and shells. Abductions of fishermen also occur.  Read more

The Free Gaza movement

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The Free Gaza movement is a human rights group that, since August 2008, has attempted to travel ten times to Gaza by sea to break Israel’s illegal stranglehold on1.5 million Palestinian civilians. We entered Gaza successfully five times in 2008; however, we have been violently intercepted on four voyages, including Israel’s MAY 31, 2010 lethal attack on our Freedom Flotilla,when nine of our colleagues were killed and many more injured by Israeli commandos. And, on the tenth voyage in July 2011, Greece prevented us from leaving as Israel and the U.S. outsourced Israel’s occupation of Gaza to Greece.  http://www.freegaza.org/

Journey through the Gaza tunnels

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Inshallah: a virtual tour of the Gaza Strip

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq-enFV5gXw