This option is being openly discussed in Israel, and for most analysts, its simply a matter of when. Very troubling, especially considering Israel's history of acting with complete disregard for international opinion, carrying out insane military actions with horrifying results with complete impunity. Clearly, the message that the world has sent means nothing to Israel, especially when nothing comes from Obama. Last year Obama could hide behind his recent inauguration so he didn't have to speak out against the crimes that Israel was committing. But this year, Obama has nothing to hide behind. He is going to be forced to take a stance, and I am fearful that our Nobel Peace Prize winner will endorse this war. Below is a recent article:
Israeli source revealed that the training that the IOF is performing in the Neguev Area (South of Gaza Strip) is aiming to achieve a large military plan which would end up with the complete reoccupation of the Gaza Strip.
Early this week, IOF land forces, in cooperation with the air force have started their training, under the name “War of a Week”, meaning that the goal of the IOF is to reoccupy Gaza Strip in only one week. IOF call it “Cast Lead #2”.
Last night, a prominent IOF military source told Israeli Channel 10 that “the next war on Gaza is not going to be like the previous one, it will be harder and wider”. He finally pointed out that they learned the lapses and failures during previous war.
Background
Last night, IOF aircrafts bombed several targets (among them tunnels used for smuggling goods), killing three people, Palestinian medics say. Palestinians said the body of a 14-year-old boy was recovered from one of the tunnels.
The air raids came after Israel said a dozen mortar bombs and rockets were fired from the Hamas-run territory into Israel. No casualties were reported from those attacks.
On Thursday 7, Israeli jets dropped thousands of leaflets over northern Gaza and Gaza City, warning many of the 1.5 million residents to stay clear of the heavily-secured border, after the mortars and rockets were fired into Israel.
The leaflets, in Arabic, with a map of Gaza Strip, said anyone within 300m of the border “will be in danger”.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
some thoughts on the cairo declaration
8 January 2010
Cairo, Egypt
What has transpired over the past two weeks in Egypt could possibly be the biggest contribution to a global, unified movement that bridges issues of economic, social, and political justice of our generation.
Over 1300 internationals gathered to attempt to enter Gaza and break the military siege and try to show the world the brutal reality of the de facto prison that 1.5 million Palestinians experience as their daily reality. We were prevented by force by the Egyptian government from even leaving Cairo to travel to the Egypt-Gaza border, under intense pressure from the United States and Israel. The massive demonstration morphed into a sort of international convergence, and its no surprise that when you pen organizers in together, they organize!
Throughout the long days spent in Cairo, powerful and radical conversations took place among representatives from nearly 40 countries, and an international movement has been reborn, guided by new principles. As in any mass movement, particularly visionary forces emerge, in this case, the most astute vision came from a delegation from South African. What is being called the Cairo Declaration has real potential to give serious political definition to our movement, now focused around “Israeli Apartheid.” The language comes directly from COSATU, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (whose motto is “An injury to one is an injury to all”). Drawing on their long history of struggle in South Africa, they have had the courage and clarity to use very definite language around the fact that the predominant ideology that guides Israeli policies, Zionism, is inherently racist, and is at the root of the conflict, occupation, oppression, and violence in Palestine. According to the declaration, it is through workers, and not just consumers, that it is necessary to organize a global campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). The framers of the declaration believe that a boycott must come at all points of intersection of the economy where Israeli goods are introduced; workers involved shipping, handling, retail, and advertisement must all be organized for maximum effect.
The Cairo declaration and the movement of which it was born was distinctly influenced by the participation of South African trade unionists, some of whom describe Israeli apartheid in Palestine as even more vile than the Apartheid regime in South Africa. The organizing around this issue, now framed in the new and more appropriate light of racism and apartheid is a clear plea for international labor solidarity. As global citizens committed to justice around the world our participation is paramount in a global struggle against a hegemonic regime in Palestine which is causing astonishing levels of oppression and suffering. This an extraordinary opportunity to educate and organize across borders and across industry lines to create ever more profound worldwide connections. Above all, we are compelled to come to the aid of the members of our global community who have requested our assistance.
What can be said is that a fire has been ignited, and by the day the signatories of this declaration are growing by the thousands. We invite you to join us in signing the Cairo Declaration and standing in solidarity with Palestinians fighting for their liberation and their allies around the world. As Nelson Mandela said, “…our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians.” From those of us who were gathered in Cairo last week to activists in Palestine, South African, France and around the world, emanates a belief that this is a common struggle and that now is the time to organize. You can sign the document at www.cairodeclaration.org and together we can organize locally in a globally coordinated effort to end Israeli Apartheid in Palestine.
Cairo, Egypt
What has transpired over the past two weeks in Egypt could possibly be the biggest contribution to a global, unified movement that bridges issues of economic, social, and political justice of our generation.
Over 1300 internationals gathered to attempt to enter Gaza and break the military siege and try to show the world the brutal reality of the de facto prison that 1.5 million Palestinians experience as their daily reality. We were prevented by force by the Egyptian government from even leaving Cairo to travel to the Egypt-Gaza border, under intense pressure from the United States and Israel. The massive demonstration morphed into a sort of international convergence, and its no surprise that when you pen organizers in together, they organize!
Throughout the long days spent in Cairo, powerful and radical conversations took place among representatives from nearly 40 countries, and an international movement has been reborn, guided by new principles. As in any mass movement, particularly visionary forces emerge, in this case, the most astute vision came from a delegation from South African. What is being called the Cairo Declaration has real potential to give serious political definition to our movement, now focused around “Israeli Apartheid.” The language comes directly from COSATU, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (whose motto is “An injury to one is an injury to all”). Drawing on their long history of struggle in South Africa, they have had the courage and clarity to use very definite language around the fact that the predominant ideology that guides Israeli policies, Zionism, is inherently racist, and is at the root of the conflict, occupation, oppression, and violence in Palestine. According to the declaration, it is through workers, and not just consumers, that it is necessary to organize a global campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). The framers of the declaration believe that a boycott must come at all points of intersection of the economy where Israeli goods are introduced; workers involved shipping, handling, retail, and advertisement must all be organized for maximum effect.
The Cairo declaration and the movement of which it was born was distinctly influenced by the participation of South African trade unionists, some of whom describe Israeli apartheid in Palestine as even more vile than the Apartheid regime in South Africa. The organizing around this issue, now framed in the new and more appropriate light of racism and apartheid is a clear plea for international labor solidarity. As global citizens committed to justice around the world our participation is paramount in a global struggle against a hegemonic regime in Palestine which is causing astonishing levels of oppression and suffering. This an extraordinary opportunity to educate and organize across borders and across industry lines to create ever more profound worldwide connections. Above all, we are compelled to come to the aid of the members of our global community who have requested our assistance.
What can be said is that a fire has been ignited, and by the day the signatories of this declaration are growing by the thousands. We invite you to join us in signing the Cairo Declaration and standing in solidarity with Palestinians fighting for their liberation and their allies around the world. As Nelson Mandela said, “…our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians.” From those of us who were gathered in Cairo last week to activists in Palestine, South African, France and around the world, emanates a belief that this is a common struggle and that now is the time to organize. You can sign the document at www.cairodeclaration.org and together we can organize locally in a globally coordinated effort to end Israeli Apartheid in Palestine.
more news
we have verified reports that the israeli army has been conducting military exercises on the border, similar to last year before the attack. of course we are not sure that it means an attack, but people are very scared in gaza.
also, please check out al-jazeera about what just happened with the viva palestina convoy on the border. things are very, very tense.
also, in egypt, things have been monumental. even bigger than i had imagined. activists are saying that an earthquake came with the international delegation and shook all the leaves off the tree, exposing egypt for what it is in its complicit role in the situation in gaza, and extending that, in the occupation. there is a huge surge in activity around protesting the wall and egypt's activity around gaza. it seems that egypt is scared, and egyptians are gaining strength in standing up to their government.
just to be clear, i want to back up a minute and say that many egyptian organiziations believed that internationals came here and intentionally left egyptian organizations out. it has been a difficult task to work with a couple of other remaining internationals here to build up trust again and let them know that we have nothing to do with codepink and their approach, and that we want to represent a new effort that was born here in cairo and is embodied in the cairo declaration. meetings are happening this week to help get an action going here in cairo around the jan. 16th event, and its quite exciting because it seems like this might be an issue that unites egyptian organization.
check out www.cairodeclaration.org and stephon's youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz467DwxHwY
also, please check out al-jazeera about what just happened with the viva palestina convoy on the border. things are very, very tense.
also, in egypt, things have been monumental. even bigger than i had imagined. activists are saying that an earthquake came with the international delegation and shook all the leaves off the tree, exposing egypt for what it is in its complicit role in the situation in gaza, and extending that, in the occupation. there is a huge surge in activity around protesting the wall and egypt's activity around gaza. it seems that egypt is scared, and egyptians are gaining strength in standing up to their government.
just to be clear, i want to back up a minute and say that many egyptian organiziations believed that internationals came here and intentionally left egyptian organizations out. it has been a difficult task to work with a couple of other remaining internationals here to build up trust again and let them know that we have nothing to do with codepink and their approach, and that we want to represent a new effort that was born here in cairo and is embodied in the cairo declaration. meetings are happening this week to help get an action going here in cairo around the jan. 16th event, and its quite exciting because it seems like this might be an issue that unites egyptian organization.
check out www.cairodeclaration.org and stephon's youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz467DwxHwY
Thursday, January 7, 2010
stop building our masters' temples
this morning as i stroll through the town of luxor i walk by the ancient temple along the bank of the nile. i look directly upon its entrance, from about 1km away, and witness a distressing scene.
when i was growing up and learned about egypt, i learned first that the pyramids were fantastic monuments, to pharaos and immortality. not long after that i learned that it was actually slaves and the poorest people who were forced or coerced to build their temples. i always thought it was terrible that people broke their backs to make something that they didnt believe in, it just never sat right with me.
of course i thought the unjust relationship between those that built it and those for whom it was built was as ancient as the constuction itself.
clearly this remains to this day. first, because we still deify the pharaohs, and we worship their worship of power and control. we now make temples to their temples.
how could a truly divine temple be built without the consent of its workers? i mean, if the people who built it were being forced, then that is what the temple worships - force. not the pharaoh or deity that we remember. that temple represents coercion and force. this is not just a buddhist idea. what i mean is, if the majority of the people dont believe in the temple, what does it represent?
so today i watch a scene that has replayed over and over throughout the centuries. men breaking their backs in the sun, lifing dirt, rocks, swinging axes. today they do it to "restore" the temples. for what reason? is it to worship the temples of old? no, we dont do that. of course we dont believe in that nonsense of the ancients. but today they rebuild it for money and tourism. so whats the difference?
one thing is clear. the temples dont get built unless we build them. but the coersion and repression are very deep, within ourselves as well as within our society. as we speak we have little pieces of our subconscious, little poor workers, who are building a temple to the god of ourselves, to our egos. unless that deity is crushed out of the subconscious of our subconscious, then we still feel the need to build temples within. because if we dont fully liberate our minds then how will we have the clarity and strength to stop consenting to building the temples to gods of power and force (aka money in the parlance of our times) in this world.
ok, maybe the metaphor is too far for this early in the morning, but just stick with me!
when i was growing up and learned about egypt, i learned first that the pyramids were fantastic monuments, to pharaos and immortality. not long after that i learned that it was actually slaves and the poorest people who were forced or coerced to build their temples. i always thought it was terrible that people broke their backs to make something that they didnt believe in, it just never sat right with me.
of course i thought the unjust relationship between those that built it and those for whom it was built was as ancient as the constuction itself.
clearly this remains to this day. first, because we still deify the pharaohs, and we worship their worship of power and control. we now make temples to their temples.
how could a truly divine temple be built without the consent of its workers? i mean, if the people who built it were being forced, then that is what the temple worships - force. not the pharaoh or deity that we remember. that temple represents coercion and force. this is not just a buddhist idea. what i mean is, if the majority of the people dont believe in the temple, what does it represent?
so today i watch a scene that has replayed over and over throughout the centuries. men breaking their backs in the sun, lifing dirt, rocks, swinging axes. today they do it to "restore" the temples. for what reason? is it to worship the temples of old? no, we dont do that. of course we dont believe in that nonsense of the ancients. but today they rebuild it for money and tourism. so whats the difference?
one thing is clear. the temples dont get built unless we build them. but the coersion and repression are very deep, within ourselves as well as within our society. as we speak we have little pieces of our subconscious, little poor workers, who are building a temple to the god of ourselves, to our egos. unless that deity is crushed out of the subconscious of our subconscious, then we still feel the need to build temples within. because if we dont fully liberate our minds then how will we have the clarity and strength to stop consenting to building the temples to gods of power and force (aka money in the parlance of our times) in this world.
ok, maybe the metaphor is too far for this early in the morning, but just stick with me!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
amazing action
yesterday i participated in by far the most moving action of this delegation. the april 6th movement invited the remaining internationals to accompany them in a demonstration to protest egypt's participation in constructing the steel wall beneath the ground on the border between egypt and gaza.
the april 6th movement is something that you should look up on youtube, but essentially from what i understand they organized a year ago because the egyptian govt sold off some textile factories to make way for villas and condos, in the middle of an economic recession. the govt also ceased its subsidy of bread, which it is obligated to do in the constitution. hundreds of jobs were lost, and people were afraid of this precedent. this created a very tense atmosphere in the country, and many students took to the streets. they organized via facebook to get masses of people into the streets. facebook was shut down by the egyptian govt, the leaders of this movement were all rounded up, imprisoned, tortured, raped, and several died while in custody. those that were released and other followers have been underground since then, and they have not made a public appearance in over a year. today was the first time they ahve publicly showed themselves. very powerful.
according to their organizers, they are very happy that internationals are here. they discussed for over a week whether they should carry out the action, and ultimately decided that they would, despite incalculable personal risks. we were in their protest, and they chanted very powerful chants, like we give our blood and our souls for palestine to be free. they harshly criticized egypt for taking money from the US to build this wall. they shamed egypt for its treatment of their palestinian brothers. it was very emotional, because we and they both know that after the rally, without the protection of our international presence, they will be hunted and possibly face terribly consequences for showing such a vocal critique of the regime. my heart is with them.
i thanked one leader for his chants, and he said "we support you". it almost made me cry. all i could say was that WE support them. to witness their courage and fearlessness in the face of certain pain and violence was something i have not experienced in a long time, and has given me so much strength.
the egyptians are encouraging any ex-pats and other internationals to have another action at the israeli embassy on teh same day as the other international demos that are being called for across the world to mark the end of the operation cast lead massacre. i hope that i can support them in this effort, but they are really taking the lead on this.
everywhere we go, people are thanking us for our action at the israeli embassy. at cafe's people buy us drinks, they give us discounts, they smile and say thank you and say that we are welcome.
it appears that some people are getting into gaza, with the support of their embassies. ours has definitely said that it will not support any of us in this endeavor. no surprise there.
there is more organzing happening in the coming weeks, i will keep people abreast of what i am involved in and what i am hearing. also, the end israeli apartheid campaign is already being sent around. it seems like the US social forum is potentially a next great place to organize around this, and i hope to make a proposal to give a presentation at the forum. if anyone has contacts with the organizers, please pass them along to me. thanks.
now its just biding my time and waiting. they have told us it takes at least a week for the security background check, so i ahve decided to travel to the south for a few days to aswan and luxor. its exciting to be here, a place that i never in my life imagined that i would see with my own two eyes and feel with my feet and heart. but here i am, the lush nile and stark desert on the horizon. its weird to be travelling, my goal didnt include any of this, i was expecting gaza. but here i am, making the best of the situation, trying to stay positive, and keeping my intent focused on getting to gaza and ending the occupation. it must be resisted by every possible means.
love sent to sarah, who i just found out was arrested and deported from israel. she was supposed to be the delegation leader of a CPT delegation. crazy country. christian peackeeping teams apparently represent a security threat to the country of israel...
be in touch, and feel free to call me if ya'll want. its seven hours from the east coast. peace
the april 6th movement is something that you should look up on youtube, but essentially from what i understand they organized a year ago because the egyptian govt sold off some textile factories to make way for villas and condos, in the middle of an economic recession. the govt also ceased its subsidy of bread, which it is obligated to do in the constitution. hundreds of jobs were lost, and people were afraid of this precedent. this created a very tense atmosphere in the country, and many students took to the streets. they organized via facebook to get masses of people into the streets. facebook was shut down by the egyptian govt, the leaders of this movement were all rounded up, imprisoned, tortured, raped, and several died while in custody. those that were released and other followers have been underground since then, and they have not made a public appearance in over a year. today was the first time they ahve publicly showed themselves. very powerful.
according to their organizers, they are very happy that internationals are here. they discussed for over a week whether they should carry out the action, and ultimately decided that they would, despite incalculable personal risks. we were in their protest, and they chanted very powerful chants, like we give our blood and our souls for palestine to be free. they harshly criticized egypt for taking money from the US to build this wall. they shamed egypt for its treatment of their palestinian brothers. it was very emotional, because we and they both know that after the rally, without the protection of our international presence, they will be hunted and possibly face terribly consequences for showing such a vocal critique of the regime. my heart is with them.
i thanked one leader for his chants, and he said "we support you". it almost made me cry. all i could say was that WE support them. to witness their courage and fearlessness in the face of certain pain and violence was something i have not experienced in a long time, and has given me so much strength.
the egyptians are encouraging any ex-pats and other internationals to have another action at the israeli embassy on teh same day as the other international demos that are being called for across the world to mark the end of the operation cast lead massacre. i hope that i can support them in this effort, but they are really taking the lead on this.
everywhere we go, people are thanking us for our action at the israeli embassy. at cafe's people buy us drinks, they give us discounts, they smile and say thank you and say that we are welcome.
it appears that some people are getting into gaza, with the support of their embassies. ours has definitely said that it will not support any of us in this endeavor. no surprise there.
there is more organzing happening in the coming weeks, i will keep people abreast of what i am involved in and what i am hearing. also, the end israeli apartheid campaign is already being sent around. it seems like the US social forum is potentially a next great place to organize around this, and i hope to make a proposal to give a presentation at the forum. if anyone has contacts with the organizers, please pass them along to me. thanks.
now its just biding my time and waiting. they have told us it takes at least a week for the security background check, so i ahve decided to travel to the south for a few days to aswan and luxor. its exciting to be here, a place that i never in my life imagined that i would see with my own two eyes and feel with my feet and heart. but here i am, the lush nile and stark desert on the horizon. its weird to be travelling, my goal didnt include any of this, i was expecting gaza. but here i am, making the best of the situation, trying to stay positive, and keeping my intent focused on getting to gaza and ending the occupation. it must be resisted by every possible means.
love sent to sarah, who i just found out was arrested and deported from israel. she was supposed to be the delegation leader of a CPT delegation. crazy country. christian peackeeping teams apparently represent a security threat to the country of israel...
be in touch, and feel free to call me if ya'll want. its seven hours from the east coast. peace
Sunday, January 3, 2010
the cart before the horse
i feel very good about what has happened here in cairo. i have to say that its a resounding success, although it may seem like a setback. here is why:
what this movement needed was a coherent, cogent, unified leadership with well-defined and objective politics along with a mass international initiative to carry out the campaign. the codepink organization was never able to unite groups under it as an umbrella, due to its watered-down politics focusing simply on the humanitarian crisis in gaza. for that reason, radical groups from france, italy, greece, and elsewhere came to cairo with the hope that codepink would be their vehicle into gaza, not because they supported their politics. this would ultimately prevent a unified movement to end the seige.
what we needed was an international conference, a convergence, of internationals to gather in order to develop a coherent strategy, under an accepted, respected, and well-organized leadership. but the reality was, nobody in the world wanted to spend thousands of dollars to attend a conference, we wanted to take action. the response of egypt provided our movement the incredible opportunity to organize, as an international body convening in the same physical location. this would not have happened had we gotten into gaza. we would have all been focused on our "mission" in gaza.
conflict voyeurism: this is a phrase that i believe i just made up this afternoon, but it is a concept that is not unique to this experience. on my first day in cairo i went to a demonstration and the first chant i heard was to the tune of "we will, we will rock you" but the words for her chant were "we will, we will, free you!". i was so disgusted by these words and the mentality behind this chant that i almost took the megaphone away. i decided to bite my tongue, as i had just arrived, but what i came to realize that so much of the liberal organizing around palestine, gaza, and even from my experience in latin america is around "facilitating an experience" for liberals to return with, to have in their toolbox as activists. as longs as we have people on the left who believe that it is our mission to free anyone, that this conflict voyeurism is responsible, then we will have organizations like codepink.
to my relief the majority of the participants of this march resoundingly reject that perspective, and it is from those groups of people that we rejected the watered-down vision of activism and political intersecting that codepink represents.
if it were not for the egyptian response to hold us in cairo, we may not have ever been able to develop an analysis of what this movement needs, agree upon it internationally, and move forward in a unified way. so i know it seems bizarre that i feel like we have succeeded here in cairo, but the reality is that we needed an international conference before we could have such an ambitious international action.
my hope is that now that we have a wonderful campaign that utilizes labor as a major lens to organize an end to israeli apartheid we will be able to call yet another major international action in the future and have it be successful. as it stood, codepink's authority and reputation had been so significantly damaged in this debacle that they would never have been able to organize anything of this magnitude again, much less a coherent long-term campaign.
to codepink's credit, they made very human mistakes. they should not have bargained the way they did, it was a very amateur mistake which is surprising considering their "veteran" leadership. however, i do not feel that they were malicious. i do feel like what is so beautiful from this cairo experience is that the radical political analysis of ending the occupation, ending the politics of israeli racism, the and ending the international acquiesence to israel and the unitied states in guiding the "peace process" in the region has emerged as the majority position among internationals, and it is that platform that will guide our movement from now on. THE BAR HAS BEEN RAISED! it is very exciting.
in other news, the group of, in my opinion, sell-outs, has returned from gaza and begun giving reports of what they have experienced. first of all, their participation in the gaza freedom march that was planned for the 31st is very interesting. hamas had controlled the event, causing most gazan civil society organiziations to back out, and there were only about 500 participants, rather than the planned 50,000 and 99% of whom were men. it appears that hamas has been very strict, and the political situation in gaza and on the border is more tense than it has been in a very long time. it appears that the other politics of netanyahu visiting egypt on account of obama's recommendation to reopen peace talks, the prisoner exchange between hamas and israel, and of course our delegation are creating a very, very tense situation.
also, i am not sure if you all heard that gaza was bombed yesterday morning, the tunnels were hit by tank and plane fire. leaflets are still being dropped in the north suggesting that there will be another attack, which may be pure israeli psychological terrorism or it may be a reality. we do not have any idea.
also, WE PROTESTED THE ISRAELI EMBASSY!!! apparently it is the first time in egypt's history that the israeli embassy has been a target of protests, and it appears that most egyptians are quite thrilled and very supportive of our action two days ago. i feel very good about it.
tomorrow egyptian acticists are planning a demonstration in front of the egyptian supreme court to protest the construction of the underground steel wall on the border. those internationals who are left here are planning on supporting that effort in any way we can. its really very dangerous for egyptians to demonstrate here.
as far as an update on my personal plans, this is what i know. i have submitted a request to the egyptian foreign ministry along with a handful of others to allow us into gaza. we have provided the letters from our ngo's and, for those who can, have provided letters of support from their embassies. as you all probably know, the us embassy asks us to pay them 30$ for a letter from them to say that we understand that the US govt does not recommend us going to gaza and that if anything happens to us there then they have no responsibility. thanks, but i think i will keep the 30 bucks. so, the egyptian govt has up to 20 days legally to respond to our request, which ultimately they may deny. i am trying to be hopeful. so it looks like most people are giving up, and i will be here with a very small group, confined to cairo or the surrounding areas, for up to three weeks to wait for a response. i have decided that its worth it to wait, even though it will be expensive. hopefully i can get in!!! if it doesnt work out with the egyptian govt, i may have to find other ways in... just kidding!
i think thats it for now, i will be in touch as much as possible. i am bolstered by the fact that there is a beautiful international campaign underway, and i intend on throwing myself fully into this when i return to the states, but i still very much feel like its important for me to get into gaza to do the acupuncture work that is now my trade. its weird, this is not how i imagined this trip at all. yesterday i went to visit the sphinx and the pyramids at giza. i dont know how this trip will turn out but i still feel hopeful and i will do everything i can to get to gaza. as one man once said, "by any means necessary". insha'allah.
what this movement needed was a coherent, cogent, unified leadership with well-defined and objective politics along with a mass international initiative to carry out the campaign. the codepink organization was never able to unite groups under it as an umbrella, due to its watered-down politics focusing simply on the humanitarian crisis in gaza. for that reason, radical groups from france, italy, greece, and elsewhere came to cairo with the hope that codepink would be their vehicle into gaza, not because they supported their politics. this would ultimately prevent a unified movement to end the seige.
what we needed was an international conference, a convergence, of internationals to gather in order to develop a coherent strategy, under an accepted, respected, and well-organized leadership. but the reality was, nobody in the world wanted to spend thousands of dollars to attend a conference, we wanted to take action. the response of egypt provided our movement the incredible opportunity to organize, as an international body convening in the same physical location. this would not have happened had we gotten into gaza. we would have all been focused on our "mission" in gaza.
conflict voyeurism: this is a phrase that i believe i just made up this afternoon, but it is a concept that is not unique to this experience. on my first day in cairo i went to a demonstration and the first chant i heard was to the tune of "we will, we will rock you" but the words for her chant were "we will, we will, free you!". i was so disgusted by these words and the mentality behind this chant that i almost took the megaphone away. i decided to bite my tongue, as i had just arrived, but what i came to realize that so much of the liberal organizing around palestine, gaza, and even from my experience in latin america is around "facilitating an experience" for liberals to return with, to have in their toolbox as activists. as longs as we have people on the left who believe that it is our mission to free anyone, that this conflict voyeurism is responsible, then we will have organizations like codepink.
to my relief the majority of the participants of this march resoundingly reject that perspective, and it is from those groups of people that we rejected the watered-down vision of activism and political intersecting that codepink represents.
if it were not for the egyptian response to hold us in cairo, we may not have ever been able to develop an analysis of what this movement needs, agree upon it internationally, and move forward in a unified way. so i know it seems bizarre that i feel like we have succeeded here in cairo, but the reality is that we needed an international conference before we could have such an ambitious international action.
my hope is that now that we have a wonderful campaign that utilizes labor as a major lens to organize an end to israeli apartheid we will be able to call yet another major international action in the future and have it be successful. as it stood, codepink's authority and reputation had been so significantly damaged in this debacle that they would never have been able to organize anything of this magnitude again, much less a coherent long-term campaign.
to codepink's credit, they made very human mistakes. they should not have bargained the way they did, it was a very amateur mistake which is surprising considering their "veteran" leadership. however, i do not feel that they were malicious. i do feel like what is so beautiful from this cairo experience is that the radical political analysis of ending the occupation, ending the politics of israeli racism, the and ending the international acquiesence to israel and the unitied states in guiding the "peace process" in the region has emerged as the majority position among internationals, and it is that platform that will guide our movement from now on. THE BAR HAS BEEN RAISED! it is very exciting.
in other news, the group of, in my opinion, sell-outs, has returned from gaza and begun giving reports of what they have experienced. first of all, their participation in the gaza freedom march that was planned for the 31st is very interesting. hamas had controlled the event, causing most gazan civil society organiziations to back out, and there were only about 500 participants, rather than the planned 50,000 and 99% of whom were men. it appears that hamas has been very strict, and the political situation in gaza and on the border is more tense than it has been in a very long time. it appears that the other politics of netanyahu visiting egypt on account of obama's recommendation to reopen peace talks, the prisoner exchange between hamas and israel, and of course our delegation are creating a very, very tense situation.
also, i am not sure if you all heard that gaza was bombed yesterday morning, the tunnels were hit by tank and plane fire. leaflets are still being dropped in the north suggesting that there will be another attack, which may be pure israeli psychological terrorism or it may be a reality. we do not have any idea.
also, WE PROTESTED THE ISRAELI EMBASSY!!! apparently it is the first time in egypt's history that the israeli embassy has been a target of protests, and it appears that most egyptians are quite thrilled and very supportive of our action two days ago. i feel very good about it.
tomorrow egyptian acticists are planning a demonstration in front of the egyptian supreme court to protest the construction of the underground steel wall on the border. those internationals who are left here are planning on supporting that effort in any way we can. its really very dangerous for egyptians to demonstrate here.
as far as an update on my personal plans, this is what i know. i have submitted a request to the egyptian foreign ministry along with a handful of others to allow us into gaza. we have provided the letters from our ngo's and, for those who can, have provided letters of support from their embassies. as you all probably know, the us embassy asks us to pay them 30$ for a letter from them to say that we understand that the US govt does not recommend us going to gaza and that if anything happens to us there then they have no responsibility. thanks, but i think i will keep the 30 bucks. so, the egyptian govt has up to 20 days legally to respond to our request, which ultimately they may deny. i am trying to be hopeful. so it looks like most people are giving up, and i will be here with a very small group, confined to cairo or the surrounding areas, for up to three weeks to wait for a response. i have decided that its worth it to wait, even though it will be expensive. hopefully i can get in!!! if it doesnt work out with the egyptian govt, i may have to find other ways in... just kidding!
i think thats it for now, i will be in touch as much as possible. i am bolstered by the fact that there is a beautiful international campaign underway, and i intend on throwing myself fully into this when i return to the states, but i still very much feel like its important for me to get into gaza to do the acupuncture work that is now my trade. its weird, this is not how i imagined this trip at all. yesterday i went to visit the sphinx and the pyramids at giza. i dont know how this trip will turn out but i still feel hopeful and i will do everything i can to get to gaza. as one man once said, "by any means necessary". insha'allah.
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