Gaza delegation: Pam Rasmussen’s diary
Pam Rasmussen, of Maryland, shares her experiences (with great photos!) on the 60-member aid delegation on her blog here.
Here’s an excerpt from March 11:
This is my last day in Gaza before I head back to Cairo and then home to DC. And it’s strange, but I’m feeling “homesick” already. I feel both that I should stay here to show solidarity with the people – joining the ISM (International Solidarity Movement) to help fishermen and farmers make a living — and to get to know this unique wedge of land and its population a little better. Today was jampacked with activities, starting with a tour of some of the most war-ravaged areas of Gaza (the bitter) and ending with a delightful evening with new friends I’ve made here who I hope will be lifelong acquaintances (the sweet).
Check out this excerpt from March 6:
There are 59 of us on the two buses.
Some you would expect to find in a Codepink delegation with a mission of breaking the siege on Gaza: The mother of a girl who was bulldozed to death by the Israeli army when trying to block a home demolition. A U.S. Army colonel and diplomat who resigned in 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war. A Pulitzer-prize-winning author and feminist. A producer for Democracy Now and videographer for Big Noise Films. A member of the board of directors for the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California.
Others would surprise you – perhaps even if you thought you knew them well. The owner of a small record label that specializes in jazz and blues. The manager of an art gallery and sometime candidate for mayor of Santa Fe. A high school math teacher. A veterinarian.
Most are from the United States, but they also hail from Canada, Australia, France, Turkey, Pakistan, Dubai and Egypt.
But no matter what their background or residence, we share the same mission: To focus the world’s attention on the continuing blockade of Gaza, and — in particular – to show solidarity with the women who must continue to hold their fragile families together despite extreme hardship.
A 60-member aid delegation – including novelist Alice Walker, the parents of Rachel Corrie, Medea Benjamin and Ann Wright – is currently on its way to enter Gaza, the first delegation of its size and kind to attempt to enter Gaza since July 2007. Delegates — which include members of the Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as doctors, businesspeople, lawyers and college students — will meet with Palestinian aid groups, Gazan women, and United Nations officials. They will also bear witness to the aftermath of the three-week Israeli assault earlier this year and deliver 2,000 gift baskets to Gazan women, purchased through an outpouring of donations through the CODEPINK website to honor Gazan women on International Women’s Day, March 8.
Tags: aid delegation, Al Arish, Alice Walker, Cairo, CODEPINK, Egypt, Gaza, Give Peace a Vote, International Women's Day, Israel, Medea Benjamin, Moving Obama
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Israel is treating Palestinians exactly the way Hitler treated Jews in the Third Reich: no property rights, no recognition of international law (rejection of UN Resolutions 242/238), no human rights, no right of return, no legal recourse in jurisprudence, but yes on genocide (1400 Palestinians died in January including 400 children while Israel lost under a dozen including “friendly fire” from the Israeli Defense Forces.
Future generations of Americans will not regard kindly the decisions of our present generation in our resolution of Palestinian/Israeli relations nor will citizens of the world.
As Saint Ignatius Loyola proclaimed, “Anger in the face of injustice is permissible!” The Palestinians have endured injustice for 61 years.
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Great comment!
August 6th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
interesting stuff!
August 16th, 2009 at 9:29 am
What a good read, very interesting stuff.
December 1st, 2009 at 6:45 am
What Does “Pro-Palestinian” Really Mean?
In recent years there has been a significant rise in the number of non-Palestinians who describe themselves as “pro-Palestinian” activists. These people can be found mostly on university campuses in North America and Europe.
What is striking is that many of these “pro-Palestinian” activists have never been to the Middle East, let alone the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. In most cases, they are not even Arabs or Muslims.
What makes them “pro-Palestinian”?
In their view, inciting against Israel on a university campus or publishing “anti-Zionist” material on the Internet is sufficient to earn them the title of “pro-Palestinian.” But what these folks have not realized is that their actions and words often do little to advance the interests of the Palestinians. In some instances, these actions and words are even counterproductive.
It is hard to see how organizing events such as “Israel Apartheid Week” on a university campus could help the cause of the Palestinians. Isn’t there already enough anti-Israel incitement that is being spewed out of Arab and Islamic media outlets?
If anyone is entitled to be called “pro-Palestinian,” it is those who are publicly campaigning against financial corruption and abuse of human rights by Fatah and Hamas. Those who are trying to change the system from within belong to the real “pro-Palestinian” camp.
These are the brave people who are standing up to both Fatah and Hamas and calling on them to stop killing each other and start doing something that would improve the living conditions of their constituents.
Instead of investing money and efforts in organizing Israel Apartheid Week, for example, the self-described “pro-Palestinians” could dispatch a delegation of teachers to Palestinian villages and refugee camps to teach young Palestinians English. Or they could send another delegation to the Gaza Strip to monitor human rights violations by the Hamas authorities and help Palestinian women confront Muslim fundamentalists who are trying to limit their role to cooking, raising children and looking after the needs of their husbands.
Here is an idea: Let’s substitute Israel Apartheid Week with Palestine Democracy Week, where Palestinians would be urged and encouraged to demand an end to financial corruption and bad government.
The “pro-Palestinian” activists in the West clearly do not care about reforms and good government in the Palestinian territories. As far as these activists are concerned, delegitimizing Israel and inciting against “Zionists” are much more important that pushing for an end to financial corruption and violence in Palestinian society.
Telling the world how bad and evil Israel and the Jews are does not help the Palestinians as much as demanding good government and encouraging the emergence of young and “clean” leadership in the Palestinian territories.
If the “pro-Palestinian” camp in the West were investing a similar amount of its anti-Israel efforts in promoting moderation and civil society among Palestinians, it would be doing them a great service.
Shouting anti-Israel slogans or organizing Israel Apartheid Week in the US and Canada does not necessarily make a person “pro-Palestinian.”
But promoting good government and reform in the Palestinian territories does make one “pro-Palestinian.”
Being anti-Israel does not necessarily turn one into “pro-Palestinian.” On the other hand, promoting coexistence, peace and good government would be more beneficial to the Palestinians.
The Palestinians do not need students and professors on university campuses to tell them that Israel is bad. They have already had enough of this incitement from Hamas, Fatah and other Arab media outlets and leaders.
It is time for the “pro-Palestinian” camp in the West to reconsider its policies and tactics. It is time for this camp to listen to the authentic voices of the Palestinians – those that are shouting day and night that the Palestinians want good leaders and an end to lawlessness, anarchy and financial corruptio