Restore Funding to UNESCO

 

UNESCO is engaged in the important work of:

"Building peace in the minds of men and women."

 

The United States withdrew support for UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 2011, in response to the U.N.'s recognition of a Palestinian State.  As a result the U.S. no longer has UNESCO voting rights.   The loss of U.S. funding amounted to 22% of UNESCO's budget and has "plunged it into a funding crisis and forced it to cut programs."

 

 

 Sign the Petition to Restore U.S. Funding

to UNESCO!

The U.S.  withdrew $60 million from UNESCO, a U.N. organization that provides vital support to thousands of needy people around the world. This was because UNESCO voted to allow Palestine as a member, and an old U.S. law requires our government to cut funding from any organization that officially recognizes Palestine. Regardless of whatever feelings we may have about the Israel-Palestine conflict, we cannot allow innocent people around the world to become the collateral damage of that conflict. Please join me in asking Congress and President Obama to overturn this archaic law, and restore funding to these vital and non-partisan programs.

Read More and Sign here:

http://www.petitions.moveon.org/sign/restore-funding-to-unesco/

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Israel Ignores International Law

Systematically and Continuously . . .

The United Nations most recent report on the issues, dated March 9, 2015, states that:

". . . Israel continued to play a leading role in the establishment and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in violation of international law, in particular article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The settlements continue to be a central source of  multiple human rights violations of Palestinians. In this context, Israel still largely fails to comply with its international obligation to protect the Palestinian population from violent acts committed by Israeli settlers, and to effectively prevent, and ensure accountability for, settler violence. Israeli policies and practices regarding access to Palestinian land have a negative impact on the rights of Palestinians, in particular their rights to an adequate standard of living and to work.

 "Israel must stop obstructing and restricting the access of Palestinians to agricultural land in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Disproportionate restrictions, mostly related to settlements, are putting Palestinian livelihoods at a great risk. Effective measures should be taken to ensure that Palestinians are able to have access to and cultivate their land on a continuous basis, beyond ad hoc mechanisms such as “prior coordination”.  In addition, security of land tenure must be ensured, including by means of measures allowing Palestinians to register without discrimination the land they have been using for long periods of time.

"Israel, as the occupying Power, is obliged to take all reasonable measures to prevent violent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. Israel must ensure that all acts of violence committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property are investigated independently, impartially, thoroughly, promptly, effectively and in a non-discriminatory manner. Investigations should be open to public scrutiny and allow for the participation of victims. Alleged perpetrators should be prosecuted and victims should be granted an effective remedy.

"Israel must cease all settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as in the occupied Syrian Golan, and implement relevant United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolution 497 (1981), and withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967.  Israel must also immediately cease the exploitation of natural resources from these territories." 


The full report is worth reading if you are not entirely familiar with the situation in the occupied West Bank and the occupied Syrian Golan. It is 17 pages long and contains sources and documentation:
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/a_hrc_28_44.pdf

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The issues brought up in this report represent only some of the reasons why we boycott Israel.   We have 13 additional posts that cover quite a few more:  http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/why%20we%20boycott

You may also want to explore some of the background on the conflict and how it began:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/historical%20roots

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Be the Change!

Learn more about the boycotts here:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/12/boycott-list.html

Find letters and petitions to sign here:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/Quick%20action

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Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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Palestine is a State

 

In fact, Palestine has been a U.N. recognized state since November 2012:

From Wikimedia Commons

"The United Nations general assembly voted overwhelmingly  . . . to recognise Palestine as a state, in the face of opposition from Israel and the U S.

"The 193-member assembly voted 138 in favour of the plan, with only nine against and 41 abstentions. The scale of the defeat represented a strong and public repudiation for Israel and the US, who find themselves out of step with the rest of the world."

From: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/29/united-nations-vote-palestine-state  

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Far more countries recognize the State of Palestine than countries that don't:

 

From: Wikimedia Commons.

Map identifying Recognition of the State of Palestine. Dark green = states that have recognised; medium green = states hosting a Palestinian mission; light green = states hosting a Palestinian general or special delegation; grey = states with no relations to Palestine.

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As of November 2014,  " . . . Sweden became the 135th U.N. member state to recognize Palestine:"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/11/07/


Meanwhile, only " . .  160 of the 192 other UN member states (83%) currently recognize Israel." That's just 25 more than recognize Palestine:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Israel


Of those countries that do recognize Israel, only a very small number do not have diplomatic relationships with Palestine (in dark blue on the map below).  On the other hand, a significant portion of  the nations in the Middle East and Northern Africa, as well as the Pacific Island nations, not only do not recognize Israel, they have no relationship with Israel at all (dark green in the map below). 

From:  40 Maps that Explain the Middle East.

Check the gray areas on the map just before this one (the map that is mostly green).  The gray areas represent those countries that have no relations with Palestine.  Now check the dark green areas on the map directly above.  The dark green areas represent the countries that have no relations with Israel.  Clearly, Palestine is in better standing with the world than Israel.  Clearly, there is something wrong with the fact that mainstream Western media insists on spouting Israeli rhetoric about Palestinian statehood.


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Palestinian statehood is not something that Israel can confer or withhold from Palestine, no matter what rhetoric Israel convinces the mainstream media to repeat.  

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a final bid to shore up right-wing support ahead of a knife-edge vote on Tuesday, (March 17, 2015) said he would not permit a Palestinian state to be created under his watch if he is re-elected."

"Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said Netanyahu's comments were 'dangerous' and could plunge the region into violence.  'This is the real Netanyahu,' she said. 'From the beginning, he was attempting to carry out a grand deception by pretending to be in favor of the two-state solution. But what he was actually doing on the ground is destroying the chances of peace."

From:  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4637673,00.html

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We must not forget that Israel's occupation of Palestine is illegal!

 

“The Israeli occupation of the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories) is illegal both intrinsically and extrinsically.”

From: ‘Illegal Occupation: Framing the Occupied Palestinian Territory,’ Berkeley Journal of International Law:   http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1299&context=bjil

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Free Palestine!

 

That's what we are working for!

Please see our complete Boycott List here:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/12/boycott-list.html

And our Quick-Actions here:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/Quick%20action

If you have any doubt about why we boycott and work to free Palestine, please read the posts found here:   http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/why%20we%20boycott

You may also be interested in exploring the historical roots of the conflict between Israel and Palestine:  http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/historical%20roots

From Wikimedia Commons.

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Gaza Today

100K Homeless in Gaza face severe Flooding & Cold

(Note:  As of 5.26.15, the only thing that has changed is the weather. The living conditions of many people are still quite devastating. Please see the comments below this blog post for links to current articles.)

Screen shot, please see video below.

The video below illustrates how many people in Gaza are living today.  These conditions were caused by Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza neighborhoods this past summer. The US is partially responsible,  because of military support to Israel.  The US also has contributed by using its veto power at the UN to prevent Israel from facing consequences for breaches of International Law.  This everyday ongoing situation that affects many families is just part of the reason we

Boycott for Peace!

The UN Declared a State of Emergency in November 2014.  Nothing yet has been done.

 Read more here:  http://www.juancole.com/2014/11/flooding-declares-emergency.html


Please remember that in this Israeli bombing campaign that caused the 100K homeless:
"The UN says at least 2,104 Palestinian died, including 1,462 civilians, of whom 495 were children and 253 women."   While on the other hand, 72 Israeli's and one Thai were killed by Palestinians:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28439404


Please also remember, the people have no way to escape:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade_of_the_Gaza_Strip 

Israel claims many excuses for its actions against the Palestinians, however, 

profit lies at the heart of the matter. "Israel Uses Gaza to Test and Market Weapons:" http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/09/does-israel-use-gaza-to-test-and-market.html 

Practice Economic Justice and Ethical spending!  Check out our Boycott List.  

Video:  Gaza Today, Sometimes Water Gets to the Tent:

Post by Hassan Rabee.

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United Nations and Palestine

United Nations and Palestine

Rule of Law

International law rose after the Second World War as a way to resolve conflicts without the use of violence. Israel has broken more United Nations (UN) resolution than any other country. In order to stall any final solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict Israel has constructed realities on the ground such as illegal settlements, internal displacement of people and economic sanctions to act as an impetus to drive people to seek sanctuary outside of Palestinian territory. Israel's goal is to annex as much Palestinian land as possible with as little Palestinians on them as possible has pushed Israel to disregard many United Nations resolutions.

Former United States Congressman Paul Findley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Findley) compiled a list of resolutions the United States vetoed at the United Nations Security Council and a list of United Nations resolutions against Israel that have been broken by Israel.  He notes that the United States was successful at preventing the United Nations from pushing sanctions against Israel and as a consequence stymied any attempts at solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and indirectly influenced all the resolutions against Israel to be watered down in hopes that the United States not use their veto to impede the resolution from going through. http://guardian.150m.com/palestine/UN-condemnation-of-israel.htm

Reading through the resolutions gives a very different image of Israel than the ones often portrayed on mainstream American media. The latest resolution to pass called on Israel to put its nuclear facilities under international oversight indicates Israel is not the helpless player in the Conflict. Israel is a nuclear nation with the fourth largest military force in the world and is hardly the defensive player it is portraying to be but an active offensive provocateur. UN Resolution 3379 describes Zionism as a form of Racism underlies the fallacy that Israel is a democratic nation that treats all its citizens equally. The resolution points to the preferential treatment Jewish citizens receive in Israel compared to the Palestinian minorities in cases like education and housing to name a few. Typically, democracies obey the rule of law and do not require the United States to apply diplomatic pressure to have the UN Resolution 3379 to be rescinded by UN Resolution 4686 in 1991. 


Another United Nations resolution that negatively reflects on the treatment of Palestinians by Israel since 1948 is United Nations Resolution 194. This resolution was sponsored by Count Folke Bernadotte (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folke_Bernadotte) before his assassination by Israeli extremists. This resolution calls on the unconditional return of all Palestinian refugees that were forceable removed from their homes by organized Jewish military organizations. Interestingly enough, Count Folke was accepted as a United Nations mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by the Israeli government because they believed he would be partial towards them because as president of the Swedish Red Cross he was instrumental in saving Jews from the Nazis during the Second World War. Israeli officials did not expect him to show the same type of empathy for the Palestinians he did the Jews.

Even though United Nations resolutions are often non binding they do carry moral weight among members and repeated condemnation of Israel’s human rights violations, and international laws undermines Israel’s credibility as a democracy and questions the loyalty of American politicians representing American values of freedom, democracy and liberty with each veto it favors Israel over the Palestinians.

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Here is additional information on three resolutions that are used often in Palestinian debates.

In an effort to create a nuclear free zone in the Middle East the United Nations called on Israel to disclose their nuclear program. http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/energy/article/UN-assembly-calls-on-Israel-to-join-nuclear-treaty-5929740.php

In an attempt to eliminate all forms of racism the United Nations passed resolution 3379.http://www.scribd.com/doc/133166159/UN-Resolution-3379-Elimination-of-all-forms-of-racial-discrimination

Resolution 194 protects the rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes they were displaced from by Israeli militia, and/or given repartition for lost or destroyed property. http://www.mideastweb.org/194.htm

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For more information on the question of the loyalty of American Politicians please see:

House Resolution 707, which favors Israeli narratives in the US government:

http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/Letter

Peaceful Political Action 101-A, which documents some of the ways the US politicians favor Israeli interests over the interests of US citizens:

http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/11/political-action-101-a.html

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Just The Facts

Facts All US Citizens Need to Know About Israel and Palestine:  

• Gaza (along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem) is occupied Palestinian territory under international law, determined by the vast majority of the world, as well as the highest court in the world, the UN’s International Court of Justice. Gaza cannot commit aggression against Israel, since Israel is in constant and continual commission of illegal aggression against Palestine by occupying it (illegally and sadistically blockading it and frequently committing terrorism against its civilians, including by targeting them with chemical weapons provided by US taxpayers – see “Rain of Fire” by Human Rights Watch). As documented by Amnesty Int’l, Human Rights Watch, and many others, Israel intentionally targets and murders civilians, including children, en masse.

Many more facts are covered in this in depth, documented, and well linked outline:
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/07/facts-us-citizens-need-know-israel-palestine.html

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PLO/Palestine: Time to Stop Buying Time

Almost every day brings the announcement of a new international initiative by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to seek recognition as a "state" or to end Israel’s military rule. Most recently, the PLO announced that it intends to seek a United Nations Security Council resolution that sets a three-year deadline to end the Israeli occupation that began in 1967. This comes after two years of efforts aimed at getting other countries to recognize the "State of Palestine" – efforts that were recently rewarded with Sweden becoming the first major European state to recognize the State of Palestine, despite the tsunami of criticism it received when it first announced its intentions. In addition, there is frequent talk of Palestine signing other international conventions, as well as joining the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Yet all this talk about new initiatives rings hollow because the PLO has done so little with the many legal tools already available to it. Just a few of these instruments would, if properly used, make Israel accountable and could hasten not just an end to occupation but also the fulfillment of all Palestinian rights. Action is especially important given the Israeli government’s recent actions in East Jerusalem and the danger to its holy sites, over and above the decades of Israeli colonization throughout the West Bank and the siege of Gaza.


First and foremost among these instruments is the 2004 International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on the "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory." The opinion was a huge achievement for the Palestinian people. It involved months of work by the PLO’s UN representative at that time who led a top notch international and national legal team that defeated Israel’s best efforts.


The importance of the ICJ Advisory Opinion must not be underestimated. It is worth recalling some of the court’s major findings:

• The Wall is illegal and Israel is obliged to make reparations for all the damage it has caused.
• Not only is the Wall illegal but so is the entire "associated
  regime" – i.e., the gates, permits, closed areas, and other restrictions
  on movement. Moreover, the court reaffirmed that Israeli settlements
  breach international law.
• The court also affirmed that the West Bank and Gaza, including East
  Jerusalem, are occupied territories and that Israel is an occupying
  power with legal responsibilities.
• Perhaps most importantly, the court found that all states are
  obliged not to recognize the situation as lawful and cease any
  assistance or aid to Israel in maintaining it.

Read the rest of this in-depth article here:

PLO/Palestine: Time to Stop Buying Time

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