Peace and War in Iraq

[Cynthia]

[Surrealist]

Fine effort there by the Iraqi resistance movement (for those of you scratching your heads that's an M1-Abrams tank which has been "brewed up" (knocked out, in tankist parlance)). They downed an Apache helicopter the other day as well.

I think that Carla and the peace movement in general are a bit too diplomatic at times - I am quite militant in my outlook, and make no apologies for this.

The US military-industrial complex has been exploiting and murdering overseas for almost 100 years now. I just wish we could put the lot of them into storage or something so that everyone else could relax a bit.

[Cynthia]

More events - info - this time from Edinburgh CND, also supporting the demonstration against the occupation of Iraq, plus some other events:

Edinburgh CND: forthcoming events

1. Demonstration: Saturday April 17th 12.00 noon
Parliament Square, Edinburgh
Stop the Massacres in Falluja

2. Edinburgh CND vigil in support of Mordechai Vanunu
Wed Apr 21 5.30-7.30pm outside Scottish Parliament

3. Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition Public Meeting
End the Occupation
British Troops Out of Iraq
Why Britain Supported Saddam for so long and then 'discovered' he was the a monster
Speakers include
Charlotte Ahmed; Susan Karim and Haifa Zangana (Iraqi writer, ex-political prisoner under Saddam Hussein )

Wed Apr 21 7.30pm
Augustine United Church
George IV Bridge

[Cynthia]

[Cynthia]

[Cynthia]

At least 200 - maybe 300 - people at the Stop the War Demo in Parliament Square, Edinburgh today, including several from East Edin/Porty in particular. An excellent turnout and some good speakers - why are we in Iraq? no WMD, Iraqis don't want us there, Al Queda was never connected with Iraq, - oh nearly forgot about oil and reconstruction post bombing & contracts for Haliburton and all Bush's friends....20,000 people dead, and more to come, and for a regime change which should and would have been carried out by the Iraqi people, once sanctions, which were hitting them not Hussein, had been lifted so they had the strength and will to fight.....when will governments learn? (Vietnam et al)
There's no doubt that the policy of this Government and USA of imposing so called 'peace' and regime change by force is not working as they thought it would. We are not welcome and should get out now. Its clear that the UK/USA is not part of the solution - but part, if not all, of the problem.

Some good slogans have come out of the anti war and peace movement but one particularly stays for me - "REGIME CHANGE BEGINS AT HOME! " We should use the coming Euro Election for our MEPs in June (traditionally a low turnout and high boredom/can't see the point factor) as a chance to vote against the war - Vote for anti war parties .....and make sure they are really anti war - look carefully at what they have done to campaign against the war and what they have done to support peace campaigning..including in Iraq and all the way up to and during the 'war' and occupation...

Some more meetings coming up that Porty people may be interested in:
Thursday 22nd April 5pm Edinburgh Uni, Appleton Tower - "End Israel's Crimes Against the Palestinian People" - Scott Palestine Solidarity Campaign: Speakers: Dr Donnie Gluckstein - "I am Jewish and have never been to Israel but I can 'return' there while Palestinians cannot. This is racism." and Dr Hisham Ghenayem "I am a Palestinian whose family was driven out of Palestine. I cannot return there." Contact: www.scottishpsc.org.uk, palsolcam@blueyonder.co.uk 0131 620 0052

Sunday 25th April 5pm - 7pm - "Stop France Outlawing Islam" - "The Hijab, racism and the state" with Christine Bird and Khadija Maghrour, Friends Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace (off George IV Bridge) o organised by the Socialist Worker Platform of the Scottish Socialist Party.
Phone Pat on 07740 866 938 for more details. Open to all members and supporters of the Scottish Socialist Party.
Carla

[Cynthia]

For anyone concerned about bringing peace/campaigning against war, and the recent attacks on Iraq, Palestine and future warplans of B & B ( aka the warriors of capitalism) (remember the axis of evil one of Bush's favourite slogans and recipes for future wars? he seems to have coolled on this a bit - his warring is not popular in USA, people there have also seen through the lies and there's an election looming for President in Nov) .....here's some more important dates for your diary:

From Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition:

Advance Notice - Tony Benn - Edinburgh - August 16th venue to be confirmed.

Regular Events

Peace Vigil - On the second Saturday of each month, outside St Johns Church, West End of Princes Street from 11am to 12 noon. Come along and bring a placard to support this long running vigil.

Coalition Meetings - First and Third Wednesday of each month, Friends Meeting House, Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh at 8pm.

www.edinburghstw.org.uk

ALSO MAY DAY MARCH - "Bring the Troops Home" Assemble Saturday May 1st East Market Street (next to Waverly Station) 11.30am for march followed by rally (usually in Princes St Gdns).
Following the rally there will be a fundraiser for Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition Cellar Bar, Chamber Street, 3pm - 10pm - Music, Film, Food £4/£3 entrance.

Watch this space for more details - particularly of May Day March+ rally - Arthur Scargill and Tommy Sheridan amongst other great speakers - will post full details when I get them - or if anyone else has the full list please post here!

Carla

[Surrealist]

Haha at least Arthur Scargill still has his marbles, unlike Thatch.

Did you know Blair was condemning the violence in Iraq as being perpetrated by "outside terrorists, and an extremist who has created his own militia" ?

But enough about the US Marine Corps .......

[Cynthia]

What have Pension Funds got to do with Peace and War? A lot - Campaign Against The Arms Trade have just published their list of Local Authority (and other e.g. Union, Charities) Pension Funds as part of their Clean Investment Campaign. Guess where Lothian Pension Fund is? No 22 - out of 559 or more. That's pretty high investment in arms - although a few authorities haven't got any figures beside them but still it confirms what one person at an East Edinburgh Stop the War Public meeting complained of. East Edin STW Coalition did try to deal with this. We wrote to Cllr Maureen Child, the Cllr on the LPF at the time, as well as to Lothian Pension Fund. (I don't know if Cllr Maureen Child is still the Cllr on the LPF but as she contributes to this site perhaps she can reply to this and let us know). We were told that by law investments have to be economically motivated only and that ethics cannot be taken into account. Yet it seems that other Local Authorities do not invest nearly so much in arms. And I have been advised, by friends in CAAT amongst others, that ethical investments can in the long term prove just as economically viable, if not better, as not so dependent on continuing wars (altho we've had a few of them lately). BUT SHOULDN'T WE JUST CHANGE THE LAW ON THIS ANYWAY? I want a decent pension but not at the expense of killing people. I also want to have a say where my money goes - at the present time I cannot say I don't want my pension invested in arms manufacturing. The thought of getting a good pension out of producing cluster bombs,or stealth bombers, is horrifying. Check out the Clean Investment Campaign and your Pension Fund (if you have one!) at this address: - http://www.caat.org.uk/campaigns/clean- ... /CIC04.php

PS LPFund were no 4 in the list of Local Authorities Pension Funds last year (in terms of how much they were investing) - so there's been a little decrease - but for how long and this is way not enough? when you see how much LPF invests in arms, I think you will want to complain - after all this is not just an issue for LPF members, it is also an issue for all of us - the Council pays part of LPFunds contributions.....campaign for a change in the law so that LPFunds no longer have to invest according to best return but are allowed to invest ethically. Write to Gavin Strang MP, Labour Rooms, 54 Portobello High St, EH15 and Cllr Maureen Child at The City of Edinburgh Council, City Chambers, High Street, EH1 or email maureen.child@edinburgh.gov.uk

Carla

[Cynthia]

eyewitness account from Fallujah - all media is biased so I would rather read a story from people whose bias I understand and agree with - Socialists - see this account from Fallujah and what it is like to be on the receiving end of UK/US aggression: http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/1897/sw189707.htm

there's also an important article on the Vietnam war and the parallels with Iraq are easy to see - this is really worth a read if you read nothing else in the next 24 hours
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/1897/sw189711.htm

"By March 1968 US president Johnson's key advisers were telling him the awful truth: that the US could not win the war against a determined enemy which had mass popular support" (from this article 'Bush's nightmare, How the U.S. lost the war in Vietnam'.....

Somewhere I read a comment on the Media's coverage of the Posh and Becks saga - now running for 3 weeks and pages and pages of it in some papers - as the Media's Weapons of Mass Distraction - apart from this being a clever use of words it is pointing out something important - who owns the Papers? not us - the really really rich- so they try to determine what we read and understand of the world; who makes money out of arms sales? not us (well except through our Pension Funds which is disgusting and should be stopped and is a bit like selling shares to ordinary people in sold off public utilities not making it alright to sell them off) - in the main those who benefit from war are the really rich with masses of stocks and shares in arms and oil and reconstruction companies... see the Sunday Times Rich List....

Carla

[Cynthia]

I have received info as below from Campaign Against The Arms Trade as I queried what the number meant. Having thought it was a ranking (as they had done last year) it then wasn't clearly that. I am grateful for CAAT for getting back to me with the following amendment to my previous posting - to the effect that they have not this year ranked in order of Pension Funds and their investments in arms - however the investment by Local Authorities and Lothian Pension Fund in arms industries is astonishing, wherever they are in any ranked order.

"Though a tentative top ten was put together in 2002, I'm afraid we generally try to avoid rankings as there are possible inconsistencies in data (see 'Important Notes' on the introductory webpage) and because we have no figures for some local authorities. The 22 is purely a reference number.

Sorry not to be able to help with the ranking. We may try and produce an authoritive list in the future, though it will mean a fair amount of work.

With best wishes
Ian

Ian Prichard
Research Co-ordinator
Campaign Against Arms Trade
11 Goodwin Street
London N4 3HQ
www.caat.org.uk

I would strongly suggest you look up the CAAT website above under Clean Investment Campaign and Pension Funds - check out where your pension funds are invested and are you happy with it? Carla

[Cynthia]

MAY DAY MARCH AND RALLY

This is one NOT TO MISS! Protest about war, privatisation, cuts, Council Tax, poverty pay, support the Nursery Nurses, etc - Saturday May 1st
Assemble 11.30 am East Market Street (behind Waverly Station) for march along Princes Street, and THEN - CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS INFO!
RALLY AT THE MEADOWS....1.15pm ...with Arthur Scargill, Tommy Sheridan, Hilary Wainwright (Editor of Red Pepper Magazine), Bill Spiers STUC, plus Music - Tam White, Maggie Holland, Cecilia Grainger

Also the following Exhibition is starting from Tuesday!!:

Edinburgh May Day Committee
in association with The Bongo Club
present:

“ Never The Same Again: 20 years on from The Miners’ Strike"

Featuring the photographs of Ross Murray and Douglas Robertson at
The Bongo Club,
37 Holyrood Rd, Edinburgh.


Douglas Robertson was involved in the support groups at the time of the strike in ’84-’85. Ross Murray has been working with ex-miners and their families in Gorebridge over the last few years for the Workers Education Association. Ross has gone back this week to interview women who were heavily involved at the time, revealing the memories and depth of feeling that is still felt about the strike today in the ex-mining communities.

“Memories of the strike....bananas, given so many bashed bananas from the grocer, my house as a soup kitchen, begging the building society for a bit of space, oh aye, getting harrassed by the police in the car with the kids trying to visit their gran, Jackie on the doorstep, not coming in cause he was going back after 8 months, I made him a cuppa anyway, we’re still friends. Now I’m a manager at a childrens centre, we can’t strike with the nursery nurses because the children are so vulnerable but I told them that if it ended up me being the only senior on duty and there was a picket line then the centre wouldn’t open. Frank never crossed the picket line. Neither will I.â€Â

[Cynthia]

Sat 1 May - Mayday!The Iraq crisis continues. The US is preparing for an assault on Falluja. The consequences are incalculable. British diplomats said on Monday that they've lost all confidence in Blair's policy.

Stop the bloodshed! March on May Day to bring the troops home!

It's the 20th anniversary of the miners strike. Coal then - oil now Show your solidarity with the miners of Britain and the people of Iraq.

May Day March and rally in Edinburgh Assemble east market Street (next to Waverley Station) 11.30am


Sat 1 May - Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition FUNDRAISING SOCIAL
from 3pm til late with music, video, food following the Rally. £4 / £3 to help raise funds for Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition future activities.


Wed 5 May - Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition Meeting : Return to Iraq
7pm What's really happening in Iraq? Iraqi exile Susan Karim will talk about her recent visit to Iraq at Edinburgh City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh

[Cynthia]

Public Meeting 7.30pm, Tues 4th May
Renfield St Stephen's Church, Bath St, Glasgow
Iraq: US Empire in Flames
with John Rees, co-founder of Stop the War Coalition and author of The New Imperialism; Tommy Sheridan MSP; Fatima Helow, Palestinian refugee; Osama Saeed, Muslim Association of Britain,
sponsored by Scottish Coalition for Justice not War, Muslim Association of Britain, Globalise Resistance Scotland, Miscarriages of Justice Organisation

Wed 5 May - Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition Meeting : Return to Iraq
7pm What's really happening in Iraq? Iraqi exile Susan Karim will talk about her recent visit to Iraq at Edinburgh City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh

Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) demo outside BAE Systems AGM at Crewe Toll roundabout, Weds 5th May 4.30-5.30 - all welcome - bring banners to hang on railings, whistles etc

Thursday 6th May East Edin STW Coalition regular meeting 6.30pm - 7.30pm in Portobello Community Centre, 3 Adelphi Grove - to catch up on what's been happening in Iraq, Palestine and what we can do locally to campaign against war and promote peace. All in support of these aims are welcome. We will be discussing showing the peace videos to a larger audience and how to do this.

also......

Edinburgh CND Public Meeting Thursday May 13th 7.30pm: Let Vananu Go - Augustine Church, George 4th Bridge. Speaker: Ernest Rodker, Free Vananu Campaign (see info previously posted on this thread)

Palestine Day - A Day for the whole family Sat May 22nd 10am - 5pm, Augustine United Church, George 4th Bridge: Middle Eastern food to eat and take away (the food was extremely popular last year and they were very busy all day); Craft Stalls; Speakers:Eye witness accounts: Films and discussion. This is an important and very interesting event - especially given the increasing support by Bush, & Blair of Israeli aggression, continued occupation of Palestine and encroachments on even more territory.....please support this if you can - even for a short visit while out shopping.

No doubt more events to follow.....May Day was brilliant and wonderfully well attended, noisy especially with chants against war, to free Palestine, - with great speakers (sadly Tommy was not well and not there but Colin Fox spoke well in his place, Mark Ballard from the Scottish Green Party spoke, and Arthur Scargill was very good, as were the musicians).......in stark contrast to the terrible allegations of torture of Iraqi prisoners by US and UK troops, and photo on front page of the Mirror today - "we are many, they are few" - unfortunately it is the few who have the money and power - even more reason to get involved, Carla

[Cynthia]

Thurs 13th May 7.30 p.m.. Edinburgh CND PUBLIC MEETING.
Let Vanunu Go!
Mordechai Vanunu was a technician at Dimona, Israel's nuclear installation. He discovered that the plant was secretly producing nuclear weapons and that Israel had stockpiled up to 200 warheads. His conscience made him speak out. He was kidnapped and sentenced to 18 years after a secret trial. He served much of his sentence in solitary confinement. He is out of jail now but under effective house arrest. Our speaker, Ernest Rodker, is secretary of the Free Vanunu Campaign and has just returned from Israel where he was part of the group who welcomed Vanunu as he left prison.
Augustine Church George IVth Bridge
Speaker: Ernest Rodker (Mordechai Vanunu Campaign)

[Cynthia]

I am going to post here, and in the next Posting, two ways people can protest about the occupation of Iraq, the disgusting torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners by USA and UK troops, and the sending of more UK troops.
First - email Gavin Strang MP and Tony Blair through the following link - you may have to write down Gavin Strang's email as for some reason it doesn't come up on the search facility - it is strangg@parliament.uk - this link is from Our World Our say about sending extra uk forces into Iraq - but you can email Gavin Strang about any aspect of the War in Iraq through this link:

From OWOS: "in recent days the media has reported that Tony Blair may send up to 4000 extra British troops to Iraq. Apparently a decision is due this week. This is enormously concerning and I am asking you to join a nationwide campaign to halt these plans. To take action please go to:
http://www.owos.info/no_more_troops/take_action_now.php
With the European Elections imminent, it is a timely moment to let MPs know the strength of public feeling on this issue.
Following the horrific torture allegations against both US and British troops, world opinion has turned even more strongly against the war and the occupation of Iraq. Britain's standing in the world will be further damaged if we send more troops.
British service men and women are likely to be sent to join an attack on the city of Najaf - the Shi'ite equivalent of the Vatican. Such an attack would be highly inflammatory to Shi'ite Muslims and would mark a significant escalation in Britain's involvement in the disastrous occupation of Iraq.
Our troops will be replacing those Spanish troops bravely brought home by their incoming government.
I urge you to join with thousands of Our World Our Say supports now by emailing, faxing or phoning your Member of Parliament and Tony Blair's office to demand a halt to these plans at:
http://www.owos.info/no_more_troops/take_action_now.php
Please act now. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon claimed on Friday that no decision had been made. However, the London Evening Standard reports that British troops are being prepared for "their most dangerous mission yet" and Tony Blair has been warned there could be "large casualties".
And on Thursday, The Sun reported that a "senior minister" has said that "it's highly sensitive but the announcement is due next week".
It is unacceptable that our armed forces should be put in harm's way because of the incompetent US military tactics in the holy city of Najaf. Instead of bringing freedom and democracy, George Bush's representatives have closed down newspapers, bombed a mosque, and tortured and abused prisoners. British troops should not have to pick up the pieces, or be subject to the vengeance of disgruntled Iraqis.
Please contact Tony Blair and your own MP today & demand that our troops are not be sent to Iraq to clean up President Bush's mess. You can send a donation for our campaign to stop this from happening at http://www.owos.info/make_a_donation/donate.php
With hundreds of contributions we can place adverts over the next few days to get more people to take action against this dangerous development.
Thank you. Please act now at http://www.owos.info/no_more_troops/take_action_now.php
Yours sincerely
Tim Walker
Chair, Our World Our Say
www.ourworldoursay.org "

This seems a good way to protest and only takes a few minutes....there follows news, in the next Posting, of another more local protest....

[Cynthia]

From Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition:

"Help to build a huge protest in Edinburgh on Wednesday June 30th as part of the world-wide protest against the occupation of Iraq.
Unspeakable pictures of US and British controllers in Iraq
Sexual humiliation - electricity to soften up prisoners
The US has just imposed sanctions against Syria.
There are no WMD in Iraq except US and British ones.
Bush and Blair are stoking up hatred against all of us with their colonial occupation of Iraq.
British and US troops are guilty of torture and killings of Iraqis, including young children, as documented by Amnesty months ago.
A majority say British soldiers should come home like the Spanish by June 30th.
The issue of stopping the war is also the issue of enforcing our democratic rights.
We have to show Iraqis - and Palestinians - that the US and Britain's disgusting crimes are not done in our names.

Help to build a huge protest in Edinburgh on Wednesday June 30th as part of the world-wide protest against the occupation of Iraq.

March and Protest
End the Crime - End the Occupation of Iraq
Iraq for the Iraqis
June 30th
ASSEMBLE 6.00pm US CONSULATE EDINBURGH

COME TO THE EDINBURGH STOP THE WAR COALITION MEETINGS -
WEDNESDAYS 8.00PM QUAKER MEETING HOUSE, VICTORIA TERRACE (off GEORGE IV BRIDGE) "

Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition
c/o Peace and Justice Centre
Princes Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4BJ
0131 620 0052
www.edinburghstw.org.uk

[Cynthia]

From Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition:

This Friday 14th and every Friday through May & June, rally to end the occupation of Iraq, at the east end of Princes Street. Bring placards, banners ... From 5pm - 7pm

Carla

[Cynthia]

Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition
Protest & Organise - EVERY Friday till June 30th 5.00 to 7.00
East End of Princes Street (at the Horse)

Friday night is (anti-war) Film Night
Tonight: 'Battle of Algiers '
Pontecorvo's unique, brilliant, unmissable saga of a previous episode of Western colonialism in the Arab world
7.30 Nicol Edward's Cinema, Niddry St (off Royal Mile) Film starts at 7.30pm prompt

Worse abuse evidence still to come as US senators stunned by evidence
Blair says he will stand by Bush
British inmates detail their Guantanamo torture in letter to Bush
Fierce resistance continues in Iraq against occupation troops
Swiss official protest to US and UK over brutality in Iraq
Amnesty International says British troops have shot and killed dozens of civilians, including eight-year-old Hanan Saleh Matrud
Palestinians kill 11 Israeli occupation soldiers - Israeli air reprisals kill 19 Palestinians

March and Protest
End the Crime - End the Occupation of Iraq
Iraq for the Iraqis
June 30th
ASSEMBLE 6.00pm US CONSULATE EDINBURGH

Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition
c/o Peace and Justice Centre
Princes Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4BJ
0131 620 0052
www.edinburghstw.org.uk

[Cynthia]

Palestine Solidarity Campaign Public Meetings on
Apartheid Israel
Monday May 24th 7:30 pm St George's West, Shandwick Place, Edinburgh
Tuesday May 25th 7:30pm Renfield St. Stephen's, 260 Bath St, Glasgow
Uri Davis, the author of Apartheid Israel and The Jewish National Fund
Ahmed Tibi, elected Palestinian member of the Parliament in the Jewish State

Palestine Day, Edinburgh
Saturday May 22nd 10:00am - 5:00pm
Augustine Church George IV Bridge Edinburgh
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign's annual fundraising day for Palestine. Films, Middle Eastern food to eat and take away, craft stalls, films, eyewitnesses from Palestine, speakers, and discussion. All welcome. "A day for the whole family"

[Cynthia]

From Stop the War Coalition:

Stop the War Coalition Calls London Demo 22 May
The StWC has called a demo for its supporters in London and the South East over the torture and brutality carried out by US & UK forces in Iraq.

Blair has said he takes personal responsibility for any abuses carried out by British troops. He should shoulder the responsibility and go now!

Leaflets are available for download from the Stop the War website www.stopwar.org.uk

[Cynthia]

From Scottish CND
Faslane Blockade 2004 Launch

BIG BLOCKADE 2004
LAUNCH & VIDEO SHOW
Come along to the launch of planning for 2004's Big Blockade of Faslane at
the Printwork's Social Centre on Albion Street, Glasgow, at 7.30pm on
Thursday 27th May.

We'll be showing video's of previous Big Blockades at Faslane, letting
people know how they can get involved and giving away publicity materials
for it. The launch will mark the start of preparations for the blockade so
if you want to be involved - come along!

This year the blockade will take place on Monday 23rd August.
The GAP Printworks Social Centre at 58 Albion Street, Glasgow, is on the
corner of Albion Street and Bell Street, close to the Trongate and is only 5
minutes walk from George Square and Queen Street station.

The Big BLOCKADE Team
0141 423 1222 or 0845 458 8361
big_blockade@hotmail.com


More information:
Faslane naval base, only thirty miles from Glasgow, is the base for four Trident submarines that carry nuclear weapons with the destructive power equal to 1,000 Hiroshimas - Britain's Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Since 1999 there have been a series of very successful blockades at Faslane causing considerable disruption to the base and involving nearly 1200 arrests. Blockades at Faslane are known for their friendly and carnival atmosphere.


For accomodation and trasnport details contact the Big Blockade Team. We are asking everyone taking part to come as a member of a group and to undertake nonviolence training. Training and briefing sessions will be held in your area.

Scottish CND, 15 Barrland Street, Glasgow, G41 1QH: 0141 423 1222
www.banthebomb.org scnd@banthebomb.org

STOP NUCLEAR TERRORISM - JOIN THE SCOTTISH CAMPAIGN FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
TODAY! Annual membership rates: Unwaged (Unemployed, Student, Youth or
Pensioner) £10; Low waged £16; Adult £24; Household £36

[Cynthia]

by the way anyone can post here! glad lots are reading this thread but you can post here even if you disagree you know or if you have articles etc you want to link to. I thought the following was an interesting comment and perhaps an antidote to the Mirror's phony pictures stuff (no doubt a small relief to TBlair) - the following is a reminder that other reputable sources had been pointing out abuse allegations by UK and US forces in Iraq for months:

Blair and Hoon - they should read Socialist Review ! Blair and Hoon are trying to say that they never saw the Red Cross report on British troops torturing Iraqis. They should read Socialist Review. The March edition carries detailed reports from the Red Cross and Amnesty International about human rights violations, torture and unlawful killing by British troops in Iraq. You can stay more informed than Blair and Hoon (not difficult!) by subscribing to the Review! @ www.socialistreview.org.uk/

Carla

[Cynthia]

From Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign:
scottishpsc@lists.riseup.net
Subject : [scottishpsc] HELP STOP IT: MASS HOUSE DEMOLITION UNDERWAY


---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [GushShalom] HELP STOP IT: MASS HOUSE DEMOLITION UNDERWAY From:
"Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)" <info@gush-shalom.org> Date: Fri,
May 14, 2004 2:55 pm
To: gush-shalom-intl@mailman.gush-shalom.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/

===========================================
Y O U R P R O T E S T
M A Y S T O P B U L L D O Z E R S
HUNDREDS OF HOUSES BEING DEMOLISHED AT RAFAH
Gush Shalom calls for worldwide campaign ===========================================

YOUR IMMEDIATE PROTEST MAY HELP LIMIT THE DAMAGE

--SMS, PHONE, FAX AND EMAIL TO YOUR RELEVANT CONTACTS--


International release

Prime Minister Sharon and Defence Minister Mofaz last night authorized
the army to demolish hundreds of Palestinian houses at Rafah, on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, so as to create a "sterile" zone hundreds of metres wide. This was reported on Kol Yirael radio by correspondent
Shmuel Tal.

The recent killing of five Israeli soldiers nearby is the pretext, but in
fact it is the implement ation of plans which the army formulated already in 2001, under then Southern Command General Yom Tov
Samiya, and which were carried out piecemeal over the past three years. (American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed when trying to block bulldozers carrying out such demolitions).

While a mass protest rally is being prepared for tomorrow evening in
Tel-Aviv, Gush Shalom calls up on supporters of peace and justice worldwide to mobilize their governments and civic organizations to act immediately and come out against this war crime while it is not yet fully perpetuated - the premeditated massive destruction of homes, making
hundreds of families homeless - most of them refugee families already
uprooted once. Now is the last minute to act against the Sharon
government's Grand Design (to create an Israeli-controlled buffer zone -
"Philadelphi Route" so as to permanently cut off the Gaza Strip from all
access to the outside world - in effect turning Gaza into a huge prison camp).

To remain updated look from time to time into:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/427462.html


PLEASE BE CREATIVE ABOUT WHOM TO ALARM
To begin with: send an urgent protest to the government of Israel, with
copies to the relevant international bodies and media - using the following sample letter. (email Scottish Israeli Information Centre in Glasgow at WEBMASTER@ISRINFO.DEMON.CO.UK - and copy to Gavin Strang MP at strangg@parliament.uk - you can copy and paste the letter below or print out and send, Carla)

Dear Sir

I call upon you to immediately stop the demolition of dozens of
Palestinian homes going on at this moment at Rafah in the
Gaza Strip.
The authorization for the IDF to destroy hundreds of houses is an
authorization by the government of Israel to commit a
war crime. For this premeditated crime nobody in the hierarchy will be
able to shrug off responsibility.
The killing of Israeli soldiers in this vicinity offers no justification
for such an act, nor can it stop further bloodshed. Peace
and quiet can only be achieved by withdrawal of the occupation forces, when the the Gaza Strip like the other parts of the
occupied territories become part of an independentt Palestinian state,
which like all sovereign states must have free access
to the outside world.
Yours
......

NB: Start with sending it to the nearest Israeli Embassy:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm (It will be good when the
foreign ministry will be alarmed by many
of its embassies)

But send your letter ALSO by fax (the best) and/or email to:

Prime Minster Ariel Sharon - email <pm_eng@pmo.gov.il>; fax +972 2 6705475
Defence Minster Saul Mofaz - email <pm_eng@pmo.gov.il>; fax +972-3-6916940
Foreign Minster Silvan Shalom - email <pm_eng@pmo.gov.il>; fax +972-3-
6916940


with copies to:

President George W. Bush <president@whitehouse.gov>
Fax: +1-202-456-2461

Secretary of State Colin Powell <secretaryofstate@USA.gov>
Fax: +1-202-261-8577

Spokesperson of the Prime Minister <dover@pmo.gov.il>
Spokesperson Defense Ministry <info@mail.idf.il>
Spokesperson Foreign Ministry <dover@mfa.gov.il>
UN Special Coordinator <unsco@palnet.com>
State Departement <secretary@state.gov>
European Union <mailto@delwbg.cec.eu.int>
(MAYBE ADD HERE THE EMAIL OF YOUR LOCAL MEDIA)

and with a blind copy to:
Gush Shalom <info@gush-shalom.org>

[for your conVenience, here follow the combined email addresses:
to:
pm_eng@pmo.gov.il, sar@mod.gov.il, sar@mofa.gov.il

cc to:
president@whitehouse.gov, secretaryofstate@USA.gov, dover@pmo.gov.il,
info@mail.idf.il, dover@mfa.gov.il, unsco@palnet.com,
secretary@state.gov, mailto@delwbg.cec.eu.int,

+ bcc to:
info@gush-shalom.org ]


Carla

[Cynthia]

There's something eerily horrible about hearing a cry for help, trying to do something about it, and failing. The last posting and the one below came in, followed very quicklly by the news that the Israeli Defence Force had gone in and killed innocent people, demolished houses and are continuing to do so. Here was the second warning email I go, and I had no time to post them before hearing the horrific news from the BBC that massacres are and have happened in the very area we were warned about in Palestine. Take a look at the following information issued by an Israeli Peace Group, shortly before the next Posting which will give you the updated situation as far as we can know it.
Emailed 15th May, rec'd 16th May
1.RAFAH - The streets of Rafah were filled yesterday evening with horse-drawn carts, trucks and pick-ups, all laden to the brim with any and
every item that the town's residents could remove from their homes -
mattresses, water tanks taken down from roofs, clothes, blankets, doors
and windows removed from their hinges, dismantled beds and closets,
school books, tin and asbestos sheeting, baby carriages, refrigerators,
gas canisters and more.


Everyone living up to 300 meters from the border with Egypt and the
Israel Defense Forces positions and machine guns; everyone who saw IDF
bulldozers raze the homes of his neighbors; everyone who could and had
not yet cleared his home of its contents; everyone living close to the
site where an IDF armored personnel carrier was blown up last Wednesday -
all hastily packed up their belongings. And when the loading was
completed, the women sat at the entrances to the homes, on concrete
blocks or plastic chairs, and watched the vehicles roll north, to
neighborhoods far from the bulldozers.

The families who petitioned the High Court of Justice this weekend
against the house demolitions also emptied their homes yesterday. On
Saturday, after the High Court issued a "qualified temporary injunction"
that stopped the IDF "from carrying out planned demolitions of any of the
homes of the petitioners," there were those who felt a sense of reprieve.
One of the petitioners, a big man, burst into tears unashamedly in public
on hearing the High Court order. But yesterday morning, after the High
Court hastily rejected the petitions, the petitioners understood that
they had better try to at least save the contents of their homes.

Such was the understanding, for example, of Massad and Ahlam Kishta, and Fauzi a-Sha'ar - two of the petitioners. They live on Abu Jamal Street,
between Salah a-Din Street and Harakevet Street, under the eyes of the
IDF's Termit outpost. Yesterday at 6 P.M., their homes were practically
empty.

The Kishta and a-Sha'ar families are two of the original clans of the
area, not refugee families. Their homes were built on their privately
owned land, where some 40-50 years ago they cultivated vegetables and
watermelons. The Kishta family father moved to the area in 1956; and in
the 1980s, the Kishtas began gradually building a concrete home for the
expanding family.

The Kishta family has stopped counting the number of times IDF
bulldozers, supported by tanks, APCs and helicopters, have demolished
homes in the area - maybe five, or six. On one occasion, a bulldozer
destroyed their bedroom, from where they now look out onto the steel wall
the army is erecting along the border, the Termit outpost, bare concrete
houses, and piles of rubble between the sand dunes. Last Thursday,
bullets and shells left holes in the walls of their son Abed's home.

On Thursday and Friday, more homes belonging to members of the Kishta
clan were demolished, when APCs, tanks and helicopters raided the area. A missile was fired at a group of women; seven people were killed. Rafah
residents vehemently deny IDF claims that the army was targeting armed
Palestinians. Human rights organizations in the town said all those
killed were civilians.

"Two years ago, they tore down my first house on top of me," says one of
the daughters of the a-Sha'ar family. "Now, the moment I heard them
approaching, I fled."

Another a-Sha'ar family member notes, "The IDF says it only demolishes
empty homes. First they chase us out the home with heavy fire, and then
they can demolish it because it's empty. Do they want us to remain in the
house while they are shelling it so that they won't destroy it?"

According to a rumor that began to spread last night, the IDF is planning
to close off the road between Gaza City and Rafah over the next three
days. A number of people see this a sign that the demolition work will be
renewed - under the cover of a blackout from the entire world.

[Cynthia]

For BBC report go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 725161.stm

bear in mind that the BBC does not always portray Palestinians as the victims of an illegal occupation of their land, as they are, but still in this news piece the horrific actions of the IDF, sanctioned by the war criminal Sharon and his war criminal buddy Bush, and no doubt therefore backed up by Blair, - they are all responsible and should be tried as war criminals both for their condoning of this violence and the violence and occupation of Iraq, and Afghanistan.

It has everything to do with oil and control of the Middle East and increasing control over markets, and nothing to do with security - or 9/11 or whatever other excuse they give. The Palestinians have been thrown out, massacred and had everything including their homes, crops like olive trees, access to roads, hospitals etc taken away from them. Even their water is controlled by Israel.
If you feel as angry about this as I do, email Gavin Strang MP at strangg@parliament.uk

[Cynthia]

More news from Gush Shalom peace group in Israel www.gush-shalom.org/ and from Coalition of Women for Peace:
http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org

Soldiers Stop! The black flag of war crime is flying

To Protest Email Gavin Strang MP at strangg@parliament.uk;david@martinmep.com,WEBMASTER@ISRINFO.DEMON.CO.UK,
+ bcc to:
info@gush-shalom.org ]

and any one else you want - haven't got Tony Blair's email here but there was an earlier posting to tell you how to get it - under Our World Our Say on this thread..

"Many hundreds of letters against the Rafah house demolitions were
sent by protesters worldwide as fax or as email, in answer to the Gush
Shalom call a few days ago. But now, with Rafah cut off from the rest
of the Gaza Strip, we face a situation of more than thousand people
having lost their homes and belongings, and 20 Palestinians who got
killed during the last day alone."

"Friends,
We need your help.
There is an emergency situation right now in the Gaza Strip and the town of Rafah, in particular, with scenes that bring to mind Israel's invasion of Jenin and Nablus in the spring of 2002. So far today, 18 Palestinians
were killed, but the action continues. Last weekend, 116 homes were destroyed, making over a thousand people homeless (www.btselem.org). Hundreds more are
slated for destruction. Amira Hass, filing dramatic daily reports from inside Rafah, describes the scenes of people grabbing their children and
whatever comes to hand and fleeing their homes, anticipating the entry of the bulldozer-tanks (www.haaretzdaily.com). Even Yossi Sarid from
the Yahad Party (formerly called Meretz), normally a staunch defender of the IDF, described actions in Rafah as "war crimes". My friend In'am called me from Gaza trembling with fear, and reported that the Palestinian news broadcaster broke down in tears as he spoke.

Many -- Israelis, internationals and Palestinians -- are desperately trying to halt the bloodshed. The Israeli women's peace movement just placed an ad in Ha'aretz calling for an immediate halt to the violence and renewal of negotiations for a peace agreement that will extract us from all the
occupied territories ("True and enduring solutions," we wrote, "are attained by negotiation, not destruction, revenge or humiliation"). This morning, forty women drove to Gaza to see if they could intervene physically, but they are being prevented from entering Gaza by the army. The women have set up an encampment at the Sufa checkpoint and say they will not leave until the army stops its actions there. Other peace and human rights organizations have placed newspaper ads, and many are organizing a larger delegation to join the women on Friday.

International figures have begun to speak out, but we need more, and quickly.
Can you please take a moment to write a letter (email or fax) or make a phone call to any or all of the list below? A sample letter is appended.

Please take a minute to try to save someone's life or home. Imagine that you had to walk out the door of your home at this very moment, with nothing but what your arms can carry, and you would never see your home or its contents ever again. Please make a couple of calls.

Gila Svirsky"

[Cynthia]

The Israeli army has opened fire on a crowd of Palestinian demonstrators in the town of Rafah in southern Gaza.
At least 10 people were killed and 60 injured, though some reports put the number of casualties higher. (from BBC News page)

email Gavin Strang urgently at strangg@parliament.uk and urge him to DO SOMETHING TO GET UK TO CONDEMN THIS AND TRY TO GET INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION AND PRESSURE ON US TO STOP FUNDING ISRAEL'S WAR MACHINE - this is murder of innocent PROTESTORS - done with the backing of Bush and, by implication, Blair his close ally -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 728681.stm

[Cynthia]

More news from Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition who are doing fantastically well, along with Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, to keep up with the strong mood against war and organise events to protest:

Frid 21 MayProtest & Organise - EVERY Friday till June 30th 5-7pm
East End of Princes Street (at the Horse)
Pick up leaflets & posters for 30 June Demonstration.

Friday night is (anti-war) Film NightNicol Edward's Cinema, Niddry St (off Royal Mile) Film starts at 7.30pm prompt
'Battle of Algiers'
'In the Pentagon, they've been re-showing Gillo Pontecorvo's terrifying 1965 film of the French war in Algeria. The Battle of Algiers, in black and white, showed what happened to both the guerrillas of the FLN and the French army when their war turned dirty. Torture, assassination, booby-trap bombs, secret executions. As the New York Times revealed, the fliers sent out to the Pentagon brass to watch this magnificent, painful film began with the words: "How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas..."' !!!
Robert Fisk
The Independent, 14 September 2003
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle ... temID=4208

Sat 22 May

Palestine Day, Edinburgh
10am - 5pm Augustine Church George IV Bridge Edinburgh
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign's annual fundraising day for Palestine. Films, Middle Eastern food to eat and take away, craft stalls, films, eyewitnesses from Palestine, speakers, and discussion. All welcome. "A day for the whole family"

Mon 24 May
7.30 pm - St George's West, Shandwick Place, Edinburgh
Palestine Solidarity Campaign Public Meeting

Apartheid Israel
Uri Davis, the author of Apartheid Israel and The Jewish National Fund
Ahmed Tibi, elected Palestinian member of the Parliament in the Jewish State

March and Protest
End the Crime - End the Occupation of Iraq
Iraq for the Iraqis
30 June 2004
ASSEMBLE 6pm US CONSULATE EDINBURGH

Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition
c/o Peace and Justice Centre
Princes Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4BJ
0131 620 0052
www.edinburghstw.org.uk

[Cynthia]

Another email (or snail mail) to send to our MP Gavin Strang please...
this time East Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition raises this:particularly relevant given the horrific increase in Israeli aggression in Rafah, Palestine, this week....

email strangg@parliament.uk
Please write to Gavin Strang as follows:

We urge you to sign the Early Day Motion, 991, as below, re the impact of Bush's statement on Israeli Policy in the Occupied Territories of Palestine. Events are showing that this is a green light for more repression, murder and house/crop destruction, and destruction of the very conditions for survival, let alone peace, for Palestinians.
Please can you let me know if you are prepared to sign the EDM 991, or have done so?
Yours sincerely,

your name supporter of East Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition Tel: 07905 220954 Email: eastedinburghstw@fsmail.net

EDM 991: IMPACT OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S STATEMENT ON ISRAELI POLICY IN THE
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES 19.04.04 >Burden/Richard
http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=991

That this House expresses strong concerns about the comments of
President George W. Bush on 14th April, endorsing Ariel Sharon's proposed Disengagement Plan; notes that the partisan nature of President Bush's comments have undermined the Road Map and believes that his uncritical approach has emboldened Israel to continue with its policy of
assassinations which is not only illegal but sets back the cause of peace; further notes that the 14th April exchange of letters between President Bush and Ariel Sharon prejudices the Road Map's stipulation that final status issues including Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements and water should be matters for joint agreement between the parties rather than imposition by Israel; further notes that the US President's comments contradict international law and existing UN resolutions on the illegality of
Israeli settlements and the rights of Palestinian refugees; welcomes, however, the Israeli Government's decision to remove its settlements from the Gaza Strip and calls on Israel also to withdraw its military presence, arranging these withdrawals through proper negotiation with the Palestinian Authority; and further calls on the quartet of the UN, EU, Russia and USA to reassert its collective responsibility for the Road Map and to take immediate steps to secure the implementation of UN resolutions to achieve Israeli withdrawal from all territories it illegally occupies, justice for the refugees and security for Israel alongside a viable and independent Palestinian state.

List of Signatories so far: (Total 69)
Richard Burden Ms Diane Abbott Mr Adrian Bailey Mr Roger Berry Mr
Crispin Blunt Mr Keith Bradley Tom Brake Dr Vincent Cable Sir Menzies Campbell Mr Tony Clarke Harry Cohen Mr Michael Connarty Mrs Ann Cryer Mr Tam Dalyell Mr John Denham Mr Parmjit Dhanda Jim Dobbin Mr Frank Doran Mr David Drew Mr Huw Edwards Clive Efford Paul Farrelly Andrew George Mr Neil Gerrard Dr Ian Gibson Mr Roger Godsiff Mr Win Griffiths Patrick Hall Mr Mike Hancock Mr Mark Hendrick Paul Holmes Mr Kelvin Hopkins Dr Brian Iddon Glenda Jackson Helen Jackson Mr Jon Owen Jones Mr Paul Keetch Mr Mark Lazarowicz Mr David
Lepper Mr Terry Lewis Mr Tony Lloyd Mr Andrew Love Ian Lucas Mr John
Lyons Mr Calum Macdonald Mr Khalid Mahmood Alice Mahon Judy Mallaber Rob Marris Mr Robert Marshall-Andrews Mr Jim Marshall Chris McCafferty Ann McKechin Anne Picking Mr Peter L Pike Mr Greg Pope Mr Ken Purchase Mr Ernie Ross Joan Ruddock Bob Russell Mr Martin Salter Mr Malcolm Savidge David Taylor Mr Ian Taylor Mr Simon Thomas Dr Desmond Turner Mr Bill Tynan Mr Robert N Wareing Derek Wyatt

[Cynthia]

please support this, Carla

Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign <palsolcam@blueyonder.co.uk>
Subject : Emergency Protest Israel's Murders

Israel's murderous reprisals are continuing.......
We see Britain and the US continuing to support the murderous State that Ariel Sharon heads.


Stop Israel's Killing Machine
Assemble in public and protest Blair's Support for Israel
Friday 21 May @ 2.30pm

Glasgow - outside City Chambers, George Square
Edinburgh - US Consulate, Regents Terrace (past Waterloo Pl)

Speakers from Rafah will address both the Glasgow and Edinburgh gatherings

We received this message from Rafah, Gaza, on Wednesday. The young man who sent the e-mail spoke at meetings in Scotland during the last year:

"dear comrades , brothers and friends ,
the isrealis killing us in gaza strip and in rafah , we need your help , we need your support to go out on the streets to ask your goverments to stop the killing of the children , women , old people in rafah , we need your help ..... please try to do something , we need your people to know what is goin on in gaza there is 50 people killed just right now , most of them children , women and old people .....

with lots of love from the Palestinian Youth Union

J A S"

[Cynthia]

Meeting: Apartheid Israel - Organised by The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign www.scottishpsc.org.uk Monday May 24th at 7.30pm at St George's West Church, Shandwick Place....Speakers: Uri Davis (author of Apartheid Israel and The Jewish National Fund. He recently bought a house in a Jews-only part of Israel on behalf of an Arab citizen of Israel, causing outrage. Ahmed Tlibi is an Arab and an elected member of the parliament in the Jewish State.


There follows more news received by email today, including analysis of the situation in Rafah and why Israel is attacking Rafah before planned leaving of Gaza Strip, from Gush Shalom, as follows:
GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The rape of Rafah

The immense might of the Israeli army, assembled from all over the
country, has attacked a small Palestinian township on the margin of
the destitute Gaza Strip. Palestinians, both fighters and civilians, are
being killed by the dozen, homes are being destroyed wholesale, the
sight of the fleeing population bring back memories of 1948.
All this - for what?
At first sight, the whole action is absurd. Ariel Sharon has proposed
a unilateral withdrawal from all of the Gaza Strip, and his original plan
included the evacuation of the "Philadelphi Axis", a narrow buffer zone
cutting Gaza off from Egypt. This means that he does not consider this
entire territory necessary for the security of Israel. According to him,
the Gaza Strip is a military and demographic burden, and the quicker
we get out of it, the better.
Sha'ul Mofaz, a former Chief of Staff and the present Minister of
Defense, went even further. This eminent thinker revealed that Gaza is
not a part of "our patrimony", that the settlements there were a
mistake from the start. This means that the soldiers who were killed
there under his command died for nothing, for a mistake, and every
soldier killed there now is dying in vain.
But now more soldiers are being placed in mortal danger. Dozens
of Palestinians, among them women and children, are being killed for
the mistake.
Does this sound crazy? What evil spirit possessed the Prime
Minister and the Chief of Staff to start a big military operation in a
territory that the army is supposed to leave at any moment?
There must be some method in this madness. What is the real
reason for this onslaught?
The official purpose is to "destroy the tunnels" under the
"Philadelphi Axis". But tunnels have been there for years. The army
boasts of destroying 98 such tunnels in the past, but only one single
tunnel has been discovered in this operation. It is clear that no military
action will put an end to them. Even if the army destroys more and
more Palestinian homes in order to widen the axis - the new tunnels
will just be longer.
The tunnels are a pretext. So, what were the real reasons for this
brutal invasion of a pitiful little town?
The first reason is the simplest: thirst for revenge. The army has
suffered two painful blows, its commanders want to settle the account.
Dozens of Palestinians are killed for 13 of our soldiers, hundreds of
homes demolished for two destroyed personnel carriers.
Add to this the argument of morale. Some senior officers were open
about this: an impressive operation that underlines the superiority of
the Israeli army in order to raise the morale of the soldiers who are still
smarting after the failures.
One can also mention the guilty conscience of the commanders
who sent their soldiers into the killings field riding on huge quantities of
explosives in inadequately armored personnel carriers. In a decent
army the responsible officers - headed by the hapless Chief of Staff -
would have resigned within hours. But in the Israeli army that is not the
way things are. On the contrary, if you fail, you can expect promotion.
From a purely military point of view, the "Philadelphi Axis" (the
name randomly generated by computer) is madness. It cannot be
defended without committing atrocities constituting or bordering on war
crimes. It attracts guerilla fighters as a candle attracts moths. But the
army chiefs who devised it will never admit its folly.
There is another reason for this operation. The generals want to
leave Gaza "with their heads held high". They cannot allow the
Palestinian guerillas to claim to have driven them out by force, as
Hizbullah did in Lebanon.
A childish argument, reflecting a particular military mentality. After
Rafah, the very opposite will happen: the action will confirm to the
Palestinians that their heroic stand has forced the army out. Who will
be able to deny that?
But the directive for the onslaught on Rafah came from the political
leadership, which was in need of a resounding military show, with
much killing and destroying, in order to gratify the primitive emotions of
a part of the public. Simply put: they hurt us, so we hurt them tenfold.
Ten eyes for an eye, ten teeth for a tooth. That's how votes are won.
Ariel Sharon also has a very good personal reason for ordering
such a glorious military campaign in the alleys of Rafah: after his
defeat in the Likud members' referendum, he was stuck in a dead end.
Opponents in his party and his government blocked him in all
directions.
A few days after the Likud vote, Gush Shalom published a political
ad under the headline "Warning!" It read:

"Sharon now resembles a wounded bull.
"A wounded bull is a dangerous animal.
"His plan is dead. He is incapable of dismantling even one single
settlement. He is incapable of getting another plan accepted.
"His only way out is to order a spectacular military adventure.
"There is no limit to the bloody deeds he is capable of now in order
to survive."

This warning was published in Haaretz on May 7. Less than two
weeks later, the operation started.
Besides the generals' thirst for revenge, the action is designed to
serve the personal interests of Sharon. The dramatic events in Rafah fill
all the news bulletins and leave no room for Sharon's political failure.
This restores his image as a resolute leader. Again he is a player on
the global stage. And if the entire world condemns him, this only
serves to raise his stature among his voters.
And the opposition? A week ago, 150 thousand peaceniks
demonstrated in Tel-Aviv's Rabin Square to express their disgust with
the present situation and to demand change. Some politicians
appointed themselves as the leaders of these wonderful people and
showered them with garbled and contradictory messages. Yet none of
these speakers cried out this week against the atrocity in Rafah. The
radical peace movements were again left alone in the field. A few hours
after the killing of the unarmed demonstrators in Rafah, these peace
activists were facing the police in the streets of Tel-Aviv, and yesterday
they held a tumultuous demonstration at the roadblock near Rafah.
The invasion of Rafah will, of course, fail, as did the invasion of
Jenin. A regular army, strong as it may be, cannot put down guerilla
fighters who are supported by a desperate population. On the contrary,
the mightier an army is, the smaller are its chances of succeeding. It
can kill dozens and hundreds, destroy whole neighborhoods, drive
masses of people from their homes and cause a small Nakba - nothing
will help. A guerilla war can only be ended by compromise and a
peaceful solution.
A little reminder: the word "guerilla" (little war) was coined in Spain
during the struggle against Napoleon. The French reacted with the
utmost brutality, witnessed for eternity by Goya's shocking painting. It
did not help them. Many historians believe that the Spanish guerilla
stuck a mortal blow to Napoleon's world empire, even before his
disastrous invasion of Russia.
Sharon is no Napoleon, whatever he might believe. He will leave
Rafah as he entered it. Nothing will change. Except one thing: Rafah,
like Jenin, will take its place in the national epic that will sustain
generations of Palestinians to come.
***

# Donations for the families in Rafah whose houses were demolished
can be sent by cheque - in your own currency! - made out to Anat
Matar, 33 Bernstein-Cohen Street, Ramat Hasharon 47213.
Bigger sums can be deposited to the Ta'ayush' bank account:
Bank Hapoalim, acc. no. 396608, Ramat Aviv branch 606
(Please avoid international bank transfer of two-digit sums because of
prohibitive bank fees).
NB: in both cases you should inform Anat Matar about the sum you
have donated, by sending her the details at <matar@post.tau.ac.il>


# Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated)

Hebrew
http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm

English
http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm

[Cynthia]

GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/

Dear letter writer

There was an overwhelming participation in the protest letter campaign
which we launched on May 14 against the then starting massive
house demolition drive by the Israeli army in Rafah. It seemed our
request was passed on and on, and the stream of letters still
continues. If you got it indirectly and want next time to be among those
who receive the appeal immediately, please subscribe to our email
alerts and reports by sending one mail - with the word

subscribe <your address> (in the subject line) - to:

gush-shalom-intl-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org


..and: thank you for filling a bit the vacuum which the inaction of the
international community leaves.

best regards

Beate Zilversmidt
Gush Shalom

[Cynthia]

[Cynthia]

Newsflash from Scotland Against Criminalising Communities

www.sacc.org.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BNP Leaflet is Racist If you get one through your letter-box, phone the police

The Commission for Racial Equality has said that in their opinion the BNP ‘election leaflet’ constitutes incitement to racial hatred. The CRE is very concerned about the leaflets. They are contacting both the Police and the Royal Mail about their concerns.

The law on incitement to racial hatred falls under the Public Order Act. People who wish to make a legal complaint about it therefore need to contact the police and complain that they regard the leaflet as stirring up hatred and inciting racial hatred (it won't do to just say it offends you personally).

BNP leaflets have already been delivered in many parts of Scotland. Act now, before they do more damage.

More information on www.sacc.org.uk <http://www.sacc.org.uk>

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

Meeting - Thursday 3 June
Azmatt Begg to speak in Edinburgh

7pm, University Chaplaincy Centre, Bristo Square, Edinburgh

Azmatt Begg, father of Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg, said today that he will be speaking at the SACC public meeting. Other speakers include Massoud Shadjareh, chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission. Details of the Edinburgh meeting see www.sacc.org.uk/diary.shtml <http://www.sacc.org.uk/diary.shtml>

The meeting is organised by SACC and supported by Edinburgh CND and the Islamic Society of Edinburgh University.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
enquiries about SACC contact sacctheacts@yahoo.co.uk or phone 07719822164
or visit www.sacc.org.uk <http://www.sacc.org.uk/>