Sign the petition against new settlements
https://secure.avaaz.org/act/index.php?r=act
go on….do it
This attachment comes along with news about Obama and his attempts to talk with Israel about limiting the settlements on the West Bank.
And this news item is no surprise: his stance is being seen as anti Israel and anti Zionist.
It seems to me that we live in a world where increasingly, reasoned argument is allowed less and less. As soon as an issue is raised for discussion there is an accusation of being ‘anti’ something. Once an argument is raised or a point of view stated, the opposing side negate it with emotional hysteria.
Sure, Israel has behaved badly over the West Bank, but criticising that behaviour doesn’t mean one is against that society – just their actions.
Keep going Obama, I say, that’s why the world wanted you there. And er, keep safe.
Gaza
http://wordpress.com/tag/israel/
T shirt available from: www.palestine.org.nz
” To me, Gaza embodies the entire saga of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; it represents the central contradiction of the state of Israel – democracy for some, dispossession for others; it is our exposed nerve”.
Amira Hass (Drinking the Sea at Gaza) quoted in Fisk, 2006. p. 557.
The question is: what is President Elect Obama saying and doing? Protests today (Thursday) at the tennis in Auckland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_242
Follow this tag/link to see blogs about the horrendous situation in Gaza and the criminal acts perpetrated by Israel.
http://tmr123.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/gaza/
Thanks Helen for your comments about the ‘situation’.
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/helen-clark-condemns-gaza-violence-2431222
Xmas in Auckland
While Welly may have been dry and sunny Auckland is…wet and not so sunny. It’s a good chance to see movies like Waltz with Bashir which I’d heartily recommend. It’s the not so well known story of the Shatila and Sabra massacre. It’s heartening to see that many Israelis participated in the movie’s production. And disheartening to see that the Israelis think it necessary to bomb Gaza again. We’ll be there for the protest today outside the American consulate. Benjamin Button btw is a better movie than you’d think from the shorts and I’d say “Yeah go and see it”. The Visitor is another movie I’d strongly recommend. Theme is displaced people and the terror of the US of A’s post-twin-towers homeland policy. The more I read/know/understand about the Middle East the more frustrated I feel about the West’s role there.
I had a great time at the Auckland City Art Gallery (once I’d mastered all the steps and the scary escalator). The Enchanted Garden exhibition is well worth a meander – even if it’s only to see some old favs and the sound/visual sculpture where dripping stones fall onto bamboo and metal. It’s a very well constructed and easy to ‘read’ exhibition, I think.
It was good to see Touch Compass on the tele (that’s the cripple theme). They are a company that includes people with disabilities and they dance, creating striking images and shapes.
Oh and of course staying with whanau and seeing whriends…..always good at this time of year.
