The people of Gaza once more attempted to give this new-fangled non-violent resistance thing* a try today, forming a human chain that stretched for more than 40 kilometers from Rafah in the south of the Strip to Beit Hanoun in the north. The protest attracted thousands of demonstrators, who hoped that such a large show of non-violent resistance might attract the indifferent world’s attention to their terrible plight. What made the whole thing even more compelling was the fact that participants came from all over the Palestinian political spectrum, with supporters of Hamas, Fatah, and other factions standing side by side along with ordinary civilians calling for their basic human rights to be respected. As one demonstrator put it, " If you jail a prisoner you at least give him food. We are not talking about the politics of it all, just the violation of our basic humanitarian needs."
As is usual with any act of non-violent resistance practiced by Palestinians, the world couldn’t give a rat’s ass- i.e. there were no dead Jews to parade all over the media.
And even though Palestinians engage in non-violent demonstrations, acts of civil disobedience and other forms of non-violent resistance on a routine basis, I really hope Palestinian society doesn’t lose heart in such tactics when they are continuously met with utter apathy by the world. To be fair though, Israel did take notice, arresting 50 people, mostly teenagers, near the Erez crossing in Beit Hanoun at the end of the chain. Apparently you’re not allowed to protest against being starved. It’s detrimental to Israel’s security.
Also, Abbashole and his crew noticed. Naturally, they were scared shitless. Their whole deal is keeping the people quiet so that Israel will let them preside over their imaginary authority, and large-scale acts of dissent or people power terrify them. That’s why the PA’s reaction came through the most ardent Palestinian Zionist this side of Dahlan, Riad Malki, who called the human chain ‘irresponsible for putting children’s lives in danger’.
And um, that’s all the PA has to say about thousands of their people standing up to their occupiers without resorting to violence (which Salam Fayyad thinks he can outlaw anyway).
Related: Accounts from participants in the chain
*overdose of venomous sarcasm
Monday, February 25, 2008
Gazans form human chain to protest the siege
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21 comments:
wish i could read this post.. yo am i the only one who can't see the right side of the post because it is cut off???
Are you looking at the posts individually? I have that problem too when I go to specific pages. When I go to the main blog page, I can read them.
Arab-Americans: NY JFK has daily nonstops to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Get yourselves one-way tickets. The rest of us will then be safer when you're gone. God Bless the State of Israel.
Lol, who is this guy?
Hey Pat. I'm white. My ancestors have fought in every war from the Revolution down to WWII. I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, and I believe in it. F*** off.
Ever heard of the USS Liberty? Look it up. It's one GREAT state. There are one-way tickets to Tel Aviv too.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/957946.html
Gaza protests 'yields a disappointing turnout' as reported by Haaretz tv.
If you can't hide the event from the world, at least you can paint it with the colors you prefer!
"If you can't hide the event from the world, at least you can paint it with the colors you prefer!"
Well, I guess that is what you would expect from people who support KHamas in Beit KHanoon and carry Palestinian and KHamas flags.
Yeah I didn't get that, every Western media outlet that covered the said the turnout was disappointing...yet the pictures say the opposite. Lets just call it shoddy journalism.
yet the pictures say the opposite.
No they don't. 4,500 people look like a lot in photographs, because that happens to be a lot of people.
But when the organizers say they expect 50,000 people to come, and less that 10% does, the English word for that is "disappointing."
It's a relative term. It doesn't mean only 10 people came. If organizers said 2 people would come, and 10 end up showing up, that would not be deemed "disappointing."
Anyway, everything Hamas said would happen, did not. No 50,0000. No rushing/destroying the fence.
That is "disappointing" by normal metrics.
Thats nice, but I'm thinking that TV pictures showing people lined up the length of Salahidin Street would point to more than 4,500 people.
Hamas didn't organize this protests dipshit, neither did they call for the borders to be rushed or any fences to be destroyed.
I would be hesitant to protest when the occupying nation sends thousands of troops OVER the border to make sure no one gets close to the wall.
Hey Pat. I'm white. My ancestors have fought in every war from the Revolution down to WWII. I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, and I believe in it. F*** off.
Then why did you convert to Islam after 9/11, skank? That makes absolutely NO SENSE. Maybe if you'd done it for love, but you didn't.
You're untouchable. I'm sure you've found out by now, even American leftists won't get near you. They can condescend and make alliances of convenience with born Muslims, but they don't have anywhere to plug somebody like you in. You are a "does not compute". You can't even buy a one way ticket to any place where you will "belong".
And, PS, all that was prompted by this:
Lol, who is this guy?
His is a legitimate American perspective. One shared by many (though not by me). You should instead try looking in the mirror and asking "Lol, who is this woman?" because I doubt even your own mother could answer that, these days.
BTW, Safiyyah, you made an unprovoked personal attack on Pat1425. If he comes back on you with personal attacks of his own, are you going to start crying?
I never cry when you attack me Craig. Because I don't really care what you think about me. I just love messing up your perceptions, and showing you that your judgmental attitude about people you've never met and know nothing about is completely ridiculous.
I apologized for calling you racist, but you didn't even see it, because you are so eager to attack me. I do think you are racist, but it's none of my business. It's between you and God.
I don't care what other people think about me, whether they be leftists or not. I'm not interested in alliances, or in trying to "fit in." And that's why I converted to Islam. Although I'm not perfect and I sometimes forget, there is only One that I care about. I don't care if you understand the beauty of my religion, or if you understand what makes people convert. That, once again, is between you and God.
I know who I am, and I know who God is. My mother knows who I am too. She, incidentally, is more aware of what is happening in the world than you will probably ever be. But that is none of your business. Don't speak about my mother.
I've been a right-wing Christian, and I've been a left-wing atheist, and now I've found the only thing that feels completely natural and perfect to me.
So, understand that, or don't. To you is your way and to me is mine.
I never claim to be perfect. You've got the market cornered on that.
Because I don't really care what you think about me.
That's pretty obvious. It shows in the way you keep explaining more about yourself every time you reply to me :P
Sorry, that was a bit harsh, but it needed to be said. Your low self-esteem shows up loud and clear. Faith can help you with that, but you have to open up your heart to it. Going through the motions generally yields unsatisfactory results, like what you've had with your various attempts.
Low self-esteem...?
Craig, may I remind you your sole leisure activity is communicating with people you haven't actually met who are an ethnicity you repeatedly say you hate...
I think that puts a new low on low self-esteem....
But being a former US Marine, you probably also learned that "love" is raping underage girls before setting them on fire...
Nox, fuck off and die. Thanks. No, seriously. Die now. You deserve it.
Craig, may I remind you your sole leisure activity is communicating with people you haven't actually met who are an ethnicity you repeatedly say you hate...
a) Most the people I interact with on this blog seem to be the same ethnicity I am.
b) "Palestinian" is not an ethnicity. It's a wannabe nationality.
c) I don't "hate" Palestinians. I dislike them. In general. I do HATE some Palestinians. As far as I know, I've never met a Palestinian I didn't dislike. Sue me. You're a bunch of self-important small-minded and violent assholes. That's not my fault.
I think that puts a new low on low self-esteem...
Really? You think engaging people that you loathe is evidence of low-self esteem? On what do you base that?
In any case, what do you call it when Palestinian "activists" spend all their time ranting to each other about Jews and Zionists (and rednecks and every other group of people they despise) on their own blogs, instead of taking some risks and taking it to the enemy, where they might actually have to defend their asinine claims?
Now, go have heart attack and die you inbred bastard.
"You think engaging people that you loathe is evidence of low-self esteem?"
Well, perhaps not as substantial as joining the US Marine corps to rape and burn Arab virgins...
Must be tough for a former Marine to replace all that: the sense of purpose, the brotherhood of your battalion, the the high-fives as you douse the 14-year-old you've just gang-raped in petrol...
Back in the real world, a match is just a match, eh?
It bothers YOU that I don't make sense to you. It doesn't bother me. I enjoy that your perceptions have to constantly shift to accommodate new things you learn. Maybe it will help you learn to accept people, and discover that your harsh judgments stem from a place of complete ignorance. (LOL. Anyway, insha' allah)
I seriously do feel sorry for you, though. I have tried to be nice to you, even though you are unendingly vicious. Sometimes I have been rude, and sometimes nice. When I am rude, you start getting upset and acting like you are a victim. When I am nice, you take it as a sign of weakness and of claiming to be a victim. Either way, your response is the same: attack.
I have known other people like you, and that is why I can truly feel sorry for you. There is some reason that you spend all your time hating on people you don't know. Something is not right in how YOU feel about YOURself.
You don't know anything about my "attempts." The place I started in as a child is not the same place I find myself in today, and I am excessively grateful for that. In any case, I have chosen my own way. I appreciate that I have made my way through life with an open mind, and have experienced many different types of people. It helps me to understand you.
Allah ma'ak, you poor embittered soul. May you find what it is you are so violently and desperately searching for.
You don't know anything about my "attempts." The place I started in as a child is not the same place I find myself in today, and I am excessively grateful for that. In any case, I have chosen my own way. I appreciate that I have made my way through life with an open mind, and have experienced many different types of people. It helps me to understand you.
So you admit (again) to being trailer trash? And how does that help you understand people "like me"? I've never been trailer trash, Safiyyah.
You are on at least your third iteration of your spiritual beliefs, according to you. I hope for your sake that Islam is your last stop. Because the penalty for apostasy in Islam is death.
Wow, you just keep on not caring all day long. I love it.
I'm so glad that you're a scholar of Islam. Maybe you could come give us a class. We'll call it Daniel Piper's Islam 101.
"Because the penalty for apostasy in Islam is death..."
And if you're a US Marine, the penalty for virginity in Iraq is rape and immolation...
Nice to see 45,000 of your fellow brothers-in-arms under curfew in Japan because America's men in uniform have something against consensual sex.
Does it make you less of a man, Craig, if the girl actually says "yes"???
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