Vittorio Arrigoni contacted me as a blogger to exchange links few months after I entered what he called the alliance of bloggers against the Israeli occupation. This was late 2006. He was blogging in Italian and I was blogging in English but he didn't see a problem, he said that through pictures, videos, we can communicate emotions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He was a man without frontiers. I am deeply sad to hear about his killing at the hands of Salafi groups in Gaza. Salafism is a cancer among us Arabs and a cancer for the world. It is eating at our development, our freedoms and at the future of our Palestinian brothers. I hope his killers will be known and tried.
Reading about him today, I wouldn't say, like many, that he was an activist, neither an idealist, Vittorio was after all an innocent and we forgot what it means to be an innocent. Vittorio, by his words and deeds, reminded us what innocence of the heart and mind means. Because we live comfortably with the fact that there is nothing to do against the great injustice that is being done to Palestinians , we have lost our innocence.
May he rest in peace. His memory must stay alive in our minds and our hearts.
Links:
Palestinians mourn Vittorio Arrigoni
Palestinians pay their last homage to Vittorio (video)
Portrait of an innocent
Statement of Vittorio's mother.
Restiamo umani.
Showing posts with label Free Gaza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free Gaza. Show all posts
15.4.11
22.9.10
14.6.10
EU And Others Raise Doubt On Flotilla Raid Inquiry By Israel
European Union governments tonight raised questions about the credibility of Israel's inquiry into the assault on the Gaza flotilla, while announcing that Israel was expected shortly to relax its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
From Haaretz: The government's efforts to avoid a thorough and credible investigation of the flotilla affair seem more and more like a farce.
The reasons for these doubts are numerous. One of the international observers, David Trimble, joined 'Friends of Israel' on the eve of May 31st, the day the Flotilla was attacked and the day Israel was on the offensive flooding news channels with lies. His Noble Prize is a fig leaf to his many biases. He should resign. The other observer, Ken Watkin, is a retired Canadian military lawyer.
Both observers will only sit at the inquiry without rights to participate in discussions and vote.
From Haaretz: The government's efforts to avoid a thorough and credible investigation of the flotilla affair seem more and more like a farce.
The reasons for these doubts are numerous. One of the international observers, David Trimble, joined 'Friends of Israel' on the eve of May 31st, the day the Flotilla was attacked and the day Israel was on the offensive flooding news channels with lies. His Noble Prize is a fig leaf to his many biases. He should resign. The other observer, Ken Watkin, is a retired Canadian military lawyer.
Both observers will only sit at the inquiry without rights to participate in discussions and vote.
8.6.10
7.6.10
Israeli Brutalities Continue Unabated
In an attempt to provoke Hamas into a military action and deflect attention from the flotilla, Israel killed four Palestinians off the Gaza coast. This followed an air strike on Gaza in which there is at least one casualty.
In another way AhmadiNejad is playing his own provocation. I am stunned how much AhmadiNejad's actions match those of actual Israeli leaders...
There was an illegal action taken by Israel in international waters resutling in the loss of the lives of civilians and there is an illegal occupaton and blockade going on against the people of Gaza. Israel is defying the international community and we need a clear condemnation of its actions. What we don't need right now is Hamas sending their usual non life threatening rockets into Israel and AhamdiNejad showing muscle, but if the international community does not condemn Israel, Hamas might end up biting the bait and AhmadiNejad might end up provoking an escalation, both actions Israel will be praying for because in the present state of international affairs they would be a gift to the murderous zionist state...
In another way AhmadiNejad is playing his own provocation. I am stunned how much AhmadiNejad's actions match those of actual Israeli leaders...
There was an illegal action taken by Israel in international waters resutling in the loss of the lives of civilians and there is an illegal occupaton and blockade going on against the people of Gaza. Israel is defying the international community and we need a clear condemnation of its actions. What we don't need right now is Hamas sending their usual non life threatening rockets into Israel and AhamdiNejad showing muscle, but if the international community does not condemn Israel, Hamas might end up biting the bait and AhmadiNejad might end up provoking an escalation, both actions Israel will be praying for because in the present state of international affairs they would be a gift to the murderous zionist state...
6.6.10
Israel Forced To Apologize For YouTube Video Mocking Activists
The YouTube clip, set to the tune of the 1985 charity single We Are the World, features Israelis dressed as Arabs and activists, waving weapons while singing: "We con the world, we con the people. We'll make them all believe the IDF is Jack the Ripper."
...The clip features a group led by the Jerusalem Post's deputy managing editor Caroline Glick, wearing keffiyehs and calling themselves the Flotilla Choir. The footage is interspersed with clips from the recent Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound aid ship, the Mavi Marmara.
The clip has been praised in Israel, where the mass-circulation daily Yediot Aharonot said the singers "defended Israel better than any of the experts"
...Government spokesman Mark Regev said the video reflected how Israelis felt about the incident. "I called my kids in to watch it because I thought it was funny," he said. "It is what Israelis feel. But the government has nothing to do with it."
As Incredible and surreal as it is, Israelis are proud of this offensive video which is still on YouTube, see for yourself:
The Israeli Army Had Also To recognize That They Doctored The Audio Exchange Between Them And The Flotilla Published On Their Website.
I don't know why Helen Thomas had to lose her job for remarks taken out of context and why Israelis never apologize for their offenses and crimes but on the contrary get away with it all.
...The clip features a group led by the Jerusalem Post's deputy managing editor Caroline Glick, wearing keffiyehs and calling themselves the Flotilla Choir. The footage is interspersed with clips from the recent Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound aid ship, the Mavi Marmara.
The clip has been praised in Israel, where the mass-circulation daily Yediot Aharonot said the singers "defended Israel better than any of the experts"
...Government spokesman Mark Regev said the video reflected how Israelis felt about the incident. "I called my kids in to watch it because I thought it was funny," he said. "It is what Israelis feel. But the government has nothing to do with it."
As Incredible and surreal as it is, Israelis are proud of this offensive video which is still on YouTube, see for yourself:
The Israeli Army Had Also To recognize That They Doctored The Audio Exchange Between Them And The Flotilla Published On Their Website.
I don't know why Helen Thomas had to lose her job for remarks taken out of context and why Israelis never apologize for their offenses and crimes but on the contrary get away with it all.
5.6.10
Autopsies Reveal Intensity Of Israeli Brutalities On Flotilla Activists
According to the scientists at the ATK, Dogan, who held US and Turkish citizenship was shot five times – from close range in the right side of his nose, in the back of the head, in the back and twice in the left leg.
The oldest victim was 60-year-old Ibrahim Bilgen, a Turkish politician, engineer and activist who was married with six children. He had been shot once in the right temple, once in the right side of his chest, once in the back and once in the hip.
Cetin Topcuotlu, a 54-year old former Taekwondo champion who worked as a coach for the Turkish national team, was shot three times – once in the back of his head, once in his hip and once in his belly. His wife, Cigden, who was with him on the Mavi Marmara said at his funeral on Thursday she would take part in further flotillas to Gaza with her son.
Activists Shot In The Head At Close Range.
More Israeli Brutalities. Naomi Klein: Blinding The Witnesses.
4.6.10
1.6.10
Obama's Oxymorons
Obama's reactions to the Israeli raid on the Gaza flotilla, the violation of international law and the subsequent massacres of civilians: know the facts...
Obama's and the US's vote on Turkey's proposition for an international inquiry on the raid at the UN security council: No international inquiry...
How would Mr. Obama like to know the facts without an international inquiry ? He would like Israel to make its own investigation into its own crimes. Looking at previous and present reactions coming from Israel, me think that Obama thinks that those among us who are disgusted at Israel's impunity and its backing by the US are morons...I don't think so, however, I think that Obama's thinking on this issue is an oxymoron...
Read this from Glen Greenwald, Salon, on the strong pro-Israel reactions, no matter what, of US lawmakers.
Obama's and the US's vote on Turkey's proposition for an international inquiry on the raid at the UN security council: No international inquiry...
How would Mr. Obama like to know the facts without an international inquiry ? He would like Israel to make its own investigation into its own crimes. Looking at previous and present reactions coming from Israel, me think that Obama thinks that those among us who are disgusted at Israel's impunity and its backing by the US are morons...I don't think so, however, I think that Obama's thinking on this issue is an oxymoron...
Read this from Glen Greenwald, Salon, on the strong pro-Israel reactions, no matter what, of US lawmakers.
4.2.09
The Gaza Holocaust: latest operation in numbers
The latest criminal Israeli offensive on Gaza that lasted 22 days:
1330 people died;
14000 homes destroyed;
68 public buildings and 38 NGO installations have been partly or totally destroyed;
600000 tons of rubble containing toxic material and unexploded bombs;
25 million dollars to clean the rubble;
200000 working days for Gazans to clean the rubble;
And all this won't even win Kadima the elections because it wasn't enough toughness for Israelis who are going to vote soon, and zionists at large...
To be continued until the last Palestinian...
1330 people died;
14000 homes destroyed;
68 public buildings and 38 NGO installations have been partly or totally destroyed;
600000 tons of rubble containing toxic material and unexploded bombs;
25 million dollars to clean the rubble;
200000 working days for Gazans to clean the rubble;
And all this won't even win Kadima the elections because it wasn't enough toughness for Israelis who are going to vote soon, and zionists at large...
To be continued until the last Palestinian...
17.1.09
The Goal Of The War On Gaza: More Palestinian Refugees Outside Israel And More Wars
I read this information at the Angry Arab site: More than 200 tents are being set in the Egyptian town of Rafah. One possibility is that the war on Gaza is meant to push Gazans out. A symptom of this possibility is Tzipi Livini's recent visit to the US where she signed an anti-smuggling Gaza deal with the US. According to the terms of the deal, Israel would stop its offensive at the condition that Israeli troops would remain for an indefinite period of time in Gaza and that Israel would regain control of the Rafah crossing border. This agreement which is unhospitable to many Palestinians living in Gaza would make them leave the territory. In the coming weeks, months, and long after the official end of the Israeli offensive, a silent war will take place in Gaza in which the IOF* will make everything possible to push Palestinians out of their territory. There will be a new generation of Palestinian refugees. Palestinians have been living in refugee camps since 1948 without a state and without rights. Israel refuses that Palestinian refugees return to their homes and land.
If this is the goal of the war on Gaza, it is worrying. More than suffering, deprivation, and killings, creating a new generation of Palestinian refugees outside Israel is going to fuel anger in the Arab world giving us a new generation of young people willing to conduct suicide missions against Israel and its accomplices in the West. Gaza is becoming a laboratory for zionists where they experiment all forms of terror, including more elaborate ethnic cleanesing under the amicable watch of the international community, and the manufacturing of terrorists.
This is a very convenient situation for Israel that would permit the state of Israel to justify bombings and incursions in refugee camps outside Israel and at its 'frontiers', give excuses for more wars - as it did with Lebanon - indefinitely repel the chances for peace for which Israel must compromise and give back some land, and even gain some more land, feeding the territorial addiction of the zionist state and keeping its frontiers elastic and loose. Because, after all, if Israel is not able to achieve peace despite the divisions of Arab countries and the chronic weakness of Palestinian resistance movements, this is because Israel, a very young nation, is still unsure about its territory, and does not want peace, since peace means a fixed and internationally recognised frontier.
From the archives: From the moment it withdrew from Gaza in 2005 Israel wanted war.
IOF* Israeli Occupation Forces
If this is the goal of the war on Gaza, it is worrying. More than suffering, deprivation, and killings, creating a new generation of Palestinian refugees outside Israel is going to fuel anger in the Arab world giving us a new generation of young people willing to conduct suicide missions against Israel and its accomplices in the West. Gaza is becoming a laboratory for zionists where they experiment all forms of terror, including more elaborate ethnic cleanesing under the amicable watch of the international community, and the manufacturing of terrorists.
This is a very convenient situation for Israel that would permit the state of Israel to justify bombings and incursions in refugee camps outside Israel and at its 'frontiers', give excuses for more wars - as it did with Lebanon - indefinitely repel the chances for peace for which Israel must compromise and give back some land, and even gain some more land, feeding the territorial addiction of the zionist state and keeping its frontiers elastic and loose. Because, after all, if Israel is not able to achieve peace despite the divisions of Arab countries and the chronic weakness of Palestinian resistance movements, this is because Israel, a very young nation, is still unsure about its territory, and does not want peace, since peace means a fixed and internationally recognised frontier.
From the archives: From the moment it withdrew from Gaza in 2005 Israel wanted war.
IOF* Israeli Occupation Forces
30.12.08
The Gaza Massacre: Updates
Cartoon by Simon Farr
Gaza and Israel: maps and numbers to understand the conflict
Juan Cole: It is a perfect time for the Israeli government to commit a war crime on the miserable civilians of the Gaza Strip.
Israel is following the same script as in its 2006 attack on Lebanon. It is a bad script.
Israel banning of journalists entering and reproting from Gaza challenged in the Supreme court. Only Burma, Zimbabwe, and north Korea have so far banned foreign journalists from their conflict zones.
Nir Rosen in The Guardian:
The international community is directly guilty for this latest massacre.
Israel attacks an aid ship in international waters.
Air strike kills five daughters from one family. Didn't the Nazi extermination technique go by families also ?
Tariq Ali on the collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza:
The dead Palestinians are little more than election fodder in a cynical contest between the right and the far right in Israel. Washington and its EU allies, perfectly aware that Gaza was about to be assaulted, as in the case of Lebanon in 2006, sit back and watch.
Sarah Roy: If Gaza Falls...
Ali Abunimah:
That is an Israeli truce. Any act of resistance including the peaceful protests against the apartheid wall in the West Bank is always met by Israeli bullets and bombs. There are no rockets launched at Israel from the West Bank, and yet Israel's extrajudicial killings, land theft, settler pogroms and kidnappings never stopped for a day during the truce. The western-backed Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas has acceded to all Israel's demands. Under the proud eye of United States military advisors, Abbas has assembled "security forces" to fight the resistance on Israel's behalf. None of that has spared a single Palestinian in the West Bank from Israel's relentless colonisation.
Colonial logic in Gaza.
Stars in the UK call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Obama would not be any different from Bush when it comes to Israel, stop your wishful thinking, writes Ali Abunimah.
Blogosphere round-up:
- Stef about when he was growing up as a kid under the Israeli propaganda of victimhood and heroism.
- Moussa Bashir at Global Voices writes about reactions in Lebanon.
- From TED's blog, the story of the Israeli attack on the humanitarian ship 'dignity' which had on board a former US congresswoman and a former US presidential candidate.
- Jews Sans Frontières: Ssshh! There is slaughter in Gaza...
More links from the blogosphere are to be added.
27.12.08
The massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the continuation of Israeli atrocities
It has been going on for a long time. But it is now that the world may come to realise that this something that has been going on is a daily abomination for Palestinians, an ugly occupation, and a crime against humanity at a scale of time, space, and means, never witnessed in any other occupation history, except maybe the occupation of the American continent by European settlers.
This atrocity has become the hallmark and the distinctive signature of Israeli occupation.
Something to be ranked with Deir Yassin. With the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Something, at last, that Israel's foes can say looks like an atrocity.
This atrocity has become the hallmark and the distinctive signature of Israeli occupation.
27.11.08
Gaza: Rap Under Siege
But even getting music made depends on Israel's goodwill. The studio in which Black Unit Band was recording their first album closed down recently due to power outages, brought on by Israel's refusal to let fuel into the coastal territory.
21.10.08
Free Gaza
I am thinking of joining these folks sometimes next year on their ship to break the Israeli siege of Gaza. They already did break the siege last august and intend to do so on a regular basis. So they will need our collaboration.
Each passenger should bring his own money for the trip and the food, which is not much, and if possible contribute with a donation. You can find all the information you need on their website. The boats usually leave from Larnaca, Cyprus.
26.8.08
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