Your Voice in a World where Zionism, Steel, and Fire, have Turned Justice Mute

 

 

The *FREE ARAB VOICE*
August 13, 1997

In this issue of the Free Arab Voice, we discuss:
1) The Recent Bombing in Jerusalem: The Motives and The Background
2) Action Alert: A Call to Release Palestinian Political Prisoners,
   from EBAL/Ad-dameer (www.geocities.com/Paris/Metro/1739)
3) Culture: A Translation of a Few Lines of Poetry by Badr Shaker
            As-sayab, by Omar Al Ezzi.
4) An Egyptian Rises from the Dead: The Morale of the Story
     #####################################################
1) The Recent Bombing in Jerusalem: The Motives and The Background
Every time the owl wails in the latter phases of the night of
ghastly violence that's persistently perched over the holy land of 
Palestine, the mainstream of the American media becomes somehow more
judgmental of some than others.
From behind pointing fingers, Palestinians stand more than ever 
accused since July 30 when two of them blew themselves up in a crowded
market in Jerusalem, taking fourteen Israelis with them to meet the 
Landlord of the planet.
Allegedly the attackers were Hamas members hell-bent upon
blowing up the ongoing peace process itself - or so the media says.
Moreover, the well-paid clowns of the international media
insinuated that had the last round of negotiations taken place as 
planned, there would have been tremendous American pressure on Netanyahu 
and his government to cease settlement in Jerusalem, but alas the 
Palestinians just blew it!! 
Then well-paid clowns of the official Arab and Palestinian 
media and puppet regimes joined in the chorus, condemning the bombing 
and emphasizing in Arabic and in English that whoever did this must have 
been in collusion with Netanyahu and his security apparatus.
Little do these Arab and international clowns mention that on 
July 15th, the United States was the only state, in addition to 
Micronesia and "Israel" itself, to vote AGAINST a U.N. resolution 
condemning Zionist settlement in what the U.N. calls the occupied 
territories.
Before that, on June 10th, Congress voted overwhelmingly to move 
the American embassy to Jerusalem thus recognizing it as the capital
of "Israel".
Then on August 8th, the United States again resisted issuing a 
resolution condemning the criminal Israeli closure and collective 
punishment of the West Bank and Gaza in the U.N.. Shamelessly, the Arab
and Palestinian delegations in the U.N. bowed to U.S. pressure and went 
along.  Yet historically that's been the only kind of serious pressure 
the U.S. has exercised: on Arabs in favor of "Israel".  We challenge 
anyone to prove otherwise. 
But to compensate with rhetoric for what has become a done reality,
and to invest a little in a credibility which could be later 
used to extract more concessions from the Palestinian side, Mad 
Albright, the Zionist witch of the State Department, gave a couple of
comments about bulldozers and settlements in the territories and the
official Arab clowns began to celebrate.  The people under siege didn't.
Neither did they live happily ever after nor did they fall for words
that speak much softer than horrible deeds.
So what were these 'suicide' bombers up to then?
Whatever one may think of the recent bombing in Jerusalem, it
wasn't suicide.  To the extent those who did it believed in Islam, or
believed they were going to heaven, it wasn't suicide: Islam prohibits
suicide, and promises those who commit it to go to hell.
But in this day and age where self-interest has become increasingly
the center of gravity of individual behavior, acts of self-sacrifice
in the name of a cause seem somewhat irrational; albeit not from the
point of view of those who believe that self-interest should be
secondary to some principle or ideal, be it secular, Marxist, Islamic,
or otherwise.
It is depth of commitment that determines how far one is willing
to go.  For better or for worse, the two martyrs were willing to die for
their beliefs.  They knew before hand that they were going all the way.
Without appreciation for this, one can't comprehend the dynamics
of any struggle where the odds are so stacked against the oppressed.
Appealing to self-interest or self-preservation, by yielding to the
current balance-of-power, is inevitably an argument to preserve the
status quo.
Social and political change can't be undertaken by those too
skittish to risk calamity.  It was only in this context that
Palestinian children took on with little rocks and little hands the
entire Israeli military and security apparatus during the uprising
against the occupation known as the Intifada.
Granted the loss of any human life is tragic, but from a purely
political perspective, the bombing was part of the effort to raise
the cost of Zionist occupation to our land, and a natural outcome of
the miserable conditions of Palestinian life under that occupation,
which the most recent measures of the Netanyahu government only served
to make much worse.
Present and past, it has been the Zionists who invaded, occupied,
killed, imprisoned, tortured, assassinated, air-raided, dislocated,
starved, subjugated, and oppressed the Palestinians.
Consequently, as Paulo Friere states in his book "Pedagogy of
the Oppressed": 'With the establishment of a relationship of oppression,
violence had already begun. Never in history has violence been 
initiated by the oppressed.  How could they be initiators if they 
themselves are the result of violence?'
So regardless of 'goodwill' on anybody's part, for every "Israeli"
who settled Palestine, a Palestinian has been dislocated, killed, or
oppressed.
That's why many Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims believe that
the bombings were acts of liberation, not hatred or even revenge.
Zionist settlers have been, and continue, killing Arab civilians
for decades, instituting a military not a civilian society. With
the exception of the very young and the very old, all able-bodied
Israelis ARE conscripts of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Their settlements in the West Bank and Gaza are aligned in military
and strategic formations, so they cant be thought of as just 
civilian settlements! In the case of Jerusalem, the last wave of
settlement activity is meant to create irreversible and unnegotiable
political realities on the ground.
Therefore, notwithstanding pressure on Arafat to do what he was 
brought into the territories to do, which according to the Oslo Accords
is taking over the dirty job of reigning in Palestinians, it must be
emphasized that destroying Hamas and other opposition groups will bring
neither peace nor security to "Israel".
If  for any reason, Hamas perishes defending its cause or even
unexpectedly changes course, SOMEONE will fill the vacuum that
emerges just like Hamas filled the vacuum created by Arafat's
betrayal of the Palestinian people.
And that's because peace and injustice don't mix. And there's
injustice as long as ANY PART  of Palestine is occupied and people
are oppressed or scattered in the Diaspora that the Jews have
bequeathed to Palestinians. Until the injustice is ended, peace
is nothing but acquiescence of the downtrodden, or the successful
management of oppression.  And therefore won't last.
The Crusades lasted about two centuries. But eventually
Palestine was returned to its indigenous Arab population.
 	"Israel" has occupied Palestine only since 1948.
	So history-wise, its not even half-time yet. 
	###############################################
To all the pathetic Palestinians and Arabs who deceive themselves into
thinking that they can get anything from "Israel" and the West by
kissing their butt, PLEASE STOP EMBARASSING US. IN THIS DAY
AND AGE NOBODY RESPECTS WEAKLINGS. LOOK WHERE YOUR 'PEACE PROCESS' HAVE
GOTTEN US. IT'S BETTER FOR A NATION TO FIGHT AND LOSE THAN TO LOSE FOR
NOT FIGHTING.
	          7anzalah- The Conscience of the Palestinian People
	################################################
2) Action Alert: A Call to Help in the Release of Palestinian Prisoners
Dear friends and supporters:
To help with the cause of Palestinian prisoners of conscience,
please go to EBAL/Addameer at www.geocities.com/Paris/Metro/1739
In this new isuue of Addameer you'll see:
1) A letter from a 10 years old child, asking your help to free her
father.
2) A Personal letter to Imad Elsabee', an adminstartative detainee ..
(By William Nassar).
3) Solidarity letters to Imad elsabee'.
4) Letters we recieved from Prisoners of conscience, in "Israel" jails
5) An urgent call to release Imad Elsabee' and his comrades.
Dear friends and supporters:
Once again .. we are asking you to write supporting letters to Imad
Elsabee' .. Please  send your letters to:
EBAL For Cultural And Arabic Affairs ..  at one of the following E-mail
addresses:
ebal@vegacom.on.ca (William Nassar - General manager)
addameer@wwdg.com (EBAL/Addameer head office - North America)
Junblat.aiman@usa.net (Liaiason office)
Ward@traveltales.com (Addameer office - Paris)
Also you can write directly to "Israel" prime minister at the following
e-mail address demanding the immediate release to Imad Elsabee' and all
other Prisoners of Conscience :pmo@pmo.gov.il
	#####################################################
3) Culture: A Translation from a Poem by the late Iraqi Poet Badr Shaker
Es-Sayaab, by Omar Al Ezzi who wanted to thank us for putting together
the Special Issue About Iraq of the Free Arab Voice.  Thank you Omar.
Even though these lines were written in the fifties, they still
describe the situation in Babylon / Iraq today.
FAV editors.
The night descends and yet again the city absorbs it
The dwellers of the abyss resemble a sad tune
The lanterns of the street blossom like daffodils
Like the eyes of the Medusa, they freeze the hatred in all the hearts
Warning the people of Babylon of the rogue
(Badr Shaker Al Sayab)
Iraqi poet
       
	##################################################
4) An Egyptian Rises from the Dead: The Morale of the Story
According to the July 16th issue of Arab Journal (page 13), An 
Egyptian who was pronounced dead regained consciousness after 12 hours
in a morgue refrigerator and began shouting for help, al-Akhbar Daily
reported.
The paramedic who found him alive, however, collapsed in fear
and died himself!!
Abdel-Sattar Abdel-Salam had been declared dead in a hospital in
menoufia, 65 miles northwest of Cairo.  "I opened my eyes but couldn't
see anything, I moved my hands and pushed the lid to find myself among
the dead", the newspaper quoted Abdul-Salam as saying.
The dead man shouted for help, the report said.  Eventually,
three hospital aides who had come to remove his body found him alive.
Abdul-Salam had been hospitalized with chronic liver disease.
Comment:
There's the story of one Arab, an Egyptian, who rose from the
dead.
The point being, if he can do it, the rest of the Arab
nation can do it too :)
###################################################################
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FAV Editor: Ibrahim Alloush Editor@freearabvoice.org
Co-editors: Nabila Harb Harb@freearabvoice.org
  Muhammad Abu Nasr Nasr@freearabvoice.org
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