Israel extinguished the fire at Mount Carmel after four days, with international and regional help. However, the other fires devouring its legitimacy continue to burn, or rather rage, and Israel will not be able to put these out unless it alters its racist colonial policies – something that I do not expect from Israel in the foreseeable future. The British government is seeking to amend local laws to prevent the prosecution of Israeli officials as war criminals if they enter Britain. Meanwhile, the WikiLeaks documents have demonstrated that the Conservative Party is doing its outmost to reaffirm the ‘Special Relationship' with Washington, or the relationship of dependency which was pursued shamelessly by the Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair, to the extent that the former colonial masters became subservient to their former colony. And what best way to reassure the Americans than covering up for the crimes of Israel by preventing the legal prosecution of its leaders? The British government is swimming against the current. Israel is that metaphorical Emperor without clothes, as in the well-known fable. It is the world's only remaining apartheid regime, an expansionist racist militarized state that murders women and children and steals homes, after having stolen the whole country. Meanwhile, the Arabs are ignorant of the attempts underway to delegitimize Israel; from a minority blinded by wealth, to a majority blinded by poverty, ignorance or religious extremism. However, the Israeli gang of evil is well aware of what peace advocates worldwide, including Jews, are planning. The Foreign Ministry headed by the Moldavian brothel bouncer Avigdor Lieberman has launched a PR campaign through Israel's embassies in Europe, to recruit 1000 advocates of its policies, or in other words, 1000 advocates of the fascist state that practices institutionalized terrorism. In the last two weeks alone, the following news [on Israel] came to my attention: -Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen spoke out against Israeli settlements, prompting the Israeli Foreign Ministry to ask for clarifications from the Danish embassy. The Danish Minister attacked settlements, which she said are illegal and an obstacle to peace, and called on Danish businessmen not to operate in a way that will contribute to help them. - Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has praised the book written by two Norwegian doctors, offering a damning indictment of the Israeli war on Gaza (I referred to the book a few days ago). Meanwhile, a Norwegian campaign that included one hundred prominent figures called for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The campaign was led by Egil Drillo Olsen, coach for the national Norwegian football team, who said that the campaign represents the opinion of 90 percent of Norwegians. - In Stuttgart, a conference themed "Separated in the past, together in the future" was held. The speakers at the event included Evelyn Hech-Galinski, a German Jew. She urged the west not to cave in to lobby groups and not to send weapons to Israel to be used in committing atrocious war crimes, and said that people in the West refuse to be accomplices in the crime. Meanwhile, the compassionate Israeli historian Ilan Pappé explained the issue in simple terms, and said that the issue is about colonialism and racism, but that propaganda has succeeded in drowning this fact with much mythologies, lies and nonsense. The speakers also included Haidar Eid, who described life in Gaza, and Felicia Langer, who served for decades as an Israeli lawyer defending Palestinian political prisoners. - Opposition to Israeli policies persists on U.S. university campuses. There is daily news in this regard. Last month, DePaul University announced its decision to stop serving Hummus imported from the Israeli company Sabra, because it endorses the Israeli army. This follows a successful campaign by students against a local company that provides dining services to students. In Minnesota, a campaign was launched advocating for the state to divest from Israeli bonds until Israel stops the oppression of the Palestinian people. In addition, the Chicago-area Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine distributed ads that proclaim that we can live together, and oppose the granting of 30 billion dollars in military and other aid to Israel. - About 20 senior Israeli officers received letters criticizing Israel's crimes against the Palestinians, apparently sent from Spain and signed “Rodriguez”. I have run out of space. I wanted to talk about Defense for Children International, a Geneva-based NGO, and its report on the torture of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. I also have other information on how Palestinian women prisoners have begun to speak publicly about what they had suffered at the hands of their captors, having been reluctant to do so in the past on account of their traditions. There are 190 countries in the United Nations. In case a vote was held, an overwhelming majority of these would support the Palestinians, and only a few would vote in favor of Israel, the illegal settlement outpost. [email protected]
