Japan condemns Israeli settlement plans

Published yesterday (updated) 08/08/2011 17:21

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Japanese government expressed its "disappointment" on Monday at recent Israeli plans to build 900 homes in Har Homa settlement, a statement said.

"The Government of Japan does not recognize any act that prejudges the final status of the territories in the pre-1967 borders, and Israeli settlement activities should be fully frozen.

"Japan strongly calls upon Israel to refrain from any unilateral act that changes the current situation in East Jerusalem."

The government of Japan "strongly hopes" that peace talks will be resumed soon, the statement added.

Israel's settlement construction is a major obstacle to peace talks.

More than 300,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and another 200,000 live in settlements in East Jerusalem, which is also home to some 270,000 Palestinians.

Israel has occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem since 1967.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=411663

WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (Song for Gaza)

In January of 2009, during the war in Gaza, Michael wrote and released a song in support of the Palestinian civilian victims. The song is called "We will not go down (song for Gaza)". It was posted on YouTube and originally made available as a free mp3 download. The response to the song has been overwhelming, to say the least. Here are a few stats:

• Over 1 million views of the original video on YouTube
• Hundreds of additional YouTube videos created by others using the song
  
• Over half a million downloads of mp3
  (not counting the mp3 downloads from other websites)
  
• Over 10,000 emails, comments and messages of support

Contrary to the belief of some people, the song has absolutely nothing to do with religion (and the various online postings by people claiming that Michael is a follower of any particular religion are totally erroneous). This song is strictly humanitarian in nature. It has been, and continues to be, played on radio stations and television channels in several countries, and it was chanted in demonstrations and rallies all over the globe, with several available online. It has been translated into a dozen languages and subtitled on numerous clips. More than 500 new clips have been made with "We will not go down" by people all over the world, and thousands of websites have uploaded the clip and posted the lyrics. Many people have written to confirm they had donated to UNRWA, as requested by the artist after download of the song for free.

Most importantly, "We will not go down" has reached people in Gaza, who took advantage of rare moments of electricity access to send Michael emails full of touching and inspiring messages, describing their feelings of hope and determination when hearing the song.

Michael did not initially make the song available on iTunes. However, after the incessant inflow of emails he received from people inquiring as to why it wasn't available on iTunes, he has finally rectified this situation in July of 2010.

WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (Song for Gaza)
(Composed by Michael Heart)
Copyright 2009

A blinding flash of white light
Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they’re dead or alive
They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze
We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight
Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who’s wrong or right
But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze
We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

http://www.michaelheart.com/songforgaza.htm

.INTIFADA - Doc Jazz

Doc Jazz is a Palestinian surgeon and musician living in the Arab Gulf,  known for his funky style of jazz-pop and his inspiring song lyrics. He has songs in English, Arabic and also a few in Dutch, since he was born and raised in the Netherlands. Most of his songs deal with the Palestinian cause. This website features his songs (almost 100 of them), his lyrics, his music videos (almost 40 of them) and many of his articles. The site also regularly features posts about anything related to music and Palestine. The Musical Intifada has been online since 2001, but has undergone many updates and changes since.

Occupation is a hazardous game
If you get your hands dirty it will burn you like a flame
They want us to bow down surrender our home town
For building colonies creating a show down

It's not political or meta-analytical
It's plain and straight war crimes targeting civilians
North American Indians, Australian Aboriginals
The people of the land all wiped into oblivion

It is never right to steal another people's country
Your uebermensch philosophy has smothered your morality
No fake excuses, no media control
Can cover up the crime
It is vivid to us all

Because in Palestine
There are people trying Just to live their life in peace
Though they're occupied
You can't control their lives
Because they're fighting to be free

Have you heard the story about 1948
I'm sure you've heard a story but not what took place
Ethnic cleansing like the kind you saw in Kosovo
Protected by the powerful and treated o so loveable

Justice? seems they don't know what that is
They say: power is a healthy way of solving this quiz
Military power, economical power
Without continuous infusions they wouldn't last an hour

You better stop breaking our bones
You better stop wrecking our homes
You better stop stealing our lands
Beware of the anger of the innocent

Because in Palestine
There are people trying
Just to live their life in peace
Though they're occupied
You can't control their lives
Because they're fighting to be free

It's a tragedy of inhumanity
Would you rather close your eyes?
Can't go on this way
Just wake up someday
Or you will have to pay the price

People of the world beware of Zionism
It's a racist ideology like National Socialism
United Nations Resolution 3379
You wiped it from the records but not from our minds

We will never give up
We're ready for the fight
Never give up
Beloved Palestine
Never give up
The struggle to survive
We're rising up
To rescue Palestine

We will never give up
We're ready for the fight
Never give up
Beloved Palestine
We're rising up
Intifada
We're rising up
Intifada

http://www.docjazz.com/index.php/component/content/article/38-songoftheweek/52-freesongintifada

The Dos and Don’ts of Palestine

Poet Remi Kanazi shares some of the instructions given to activists for Palestinian causes.

By Remi Kanazi

don’t call it genocide

we don’t want to offend anyone

if we offend them

they’ll never listen to us

we have to be reasonable

1,400 is just a number

no names

no death

we want peace and negotiations

don’t mention Zionism

if you mention Zionism

they’ll call you anti-Semitic

and people will believe them

don’t cite Palestinian sources

no one will believe you

I won’t believe you

trust Israeli sources

don’t ever be angry

if you’re angry

they’ll call you angry

if they’re angry

everyone will call them

understandably emotional

we have to be pragmatic

pragmatism is not a euphemism

for concessions

although it may feel that way

don’t mention Allah or martyrs

it reminds them of Al Qaeda and 9/11

it’s not your job to fix their ignorance

don’t talk about refugees

boycott

or a one-state solution

if we want to win we have to compromise

the road to peace is just ahead

don’t make analogies that include

the Nazis,the Holocaust, or the Warsaw Ghetto

only Israelis are allowed to do this

when discussing wars on

Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran

don’t talk about Haifa, Yaffa, Safad

or where your family is from

but if you do

nod when random people say they love Israel

it doesn’t matter where you came from

you can’t actually go back

don’t

just don’t

and that will lead to doing

Remi Kanazi is a poet, writer, and activist based in New
York City. He is the editor of Poets For Palestine (Al
Jisser Group, 2008). His political commentary has been
featured by news outlets throughout the world, including
Al Jazeera English, GRITtv with Laura Flanders, and BBC
Radio. His poetry has taken him across North America,
the UK, and the Middle East, and he recently appeared
in the Palestine Festival of Literature as well as Poetry
International. He is a recurring writer in residence and
advisory board member for the Palestine Writing Workshop. 

(http://www.poeticinjustice.net/book/about-remi.html)

Video shows undercover Israeli police abducting a Palestinian minor while playing soccer

by annie on August 3, 2011

I will never get used to this. I hear about these arrests but this is the first time I can recall watching an abduction of a minor with all the hallmarks of a hostile kidnapping.

B'tselem

According to Jaber's testimony to B'Tselem, the undercover policemen forced him to lie on the floor of the vehicle and blindfolded him with a piece of cloth. He cried, out of fear and helplessness. While the vehicle was moving, the boy said, the undercover forces questioned him while slapping his face. Jaber was interrogated on suspicion of stone-throwing without having his parents present, nor was he given an opportunity to consult with a lawyer. He told B'Tselem that after he refused to sign a document written in Hebrew, the interrogators punched him and hit him with a club. He maintained his refusal and was released at the entrance to the Ma’ale Zeitim settlement, in Ras al-‘Amud, approximately an hour after he was taken. Members of his family had asked police representatives where he would be released and were waiting for him at the spot. Jaber's father took him to the emergency room at Hadassah Hospital, Mt. Scopus, where he was found to be suffering from external bruising. Jaber told B'Tselem that since the incident, he has been waking up at night from nightmares.

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/08/video-shows-israeli-forces-abducting-minor-while-playing-soccer.html