Palestine Monitor

Palestinians protest the PA cabinet's announcement of an "indefinite" delay in municipal elections

Maan News — 2010-09-02T08:40:32Z

What happened in Hebron proved our point; we need a unified Palestinian position," Palestinian National Initiative leader Mustafa Barghouthi said following a mass rally in Ramallah on Wednesday.

The protest, planned immediately after PA forces quashed a news conference on 25 August, was coordinated by leftist Palestinian factions, independent parties and several prominent philanthropists and business people involved with recent attempts to restore unity.

The parties demonstrated against the return to peace talks under the conditions set out by Israel. "There were no conditions set out for the success of these talks," Barghouthi said. "There were no terms of reference and Israel has been given a veto."

Barghouthi explained that in going forward with direct talks without guarantees, like a promised halt to settlement construction in the West Bank, the Palestinian government was going in without the confidence of the Palestinian people and without their support.

"These talks will fail, and the risks are higher than ever for Palestinians," Barghouthi said. "The international community has used peace talks as a cover for peace and it is not working."

Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it carried out a shooting attack that killed four Israeli settlers in the West Bank on Tuesday night, saying in a statement that the incident was in response to the PLO's decision to negotiate with Israel.

Stressing that being against the talks is not the same as being against peace, Barghouthi said the protest had a "peaceful message" and noted that many independents taking part in the event had participated in earlier talks, particularly in Madrid in 1991.

Hundreds in Ramallah took to the streets and demonstrated the start of talks set to be launched in Washington. "President of Palestine, we are not with you," protesters chanted, and "The PNA leaders put us in danger."

"What is needed is a unified stance in rejecting Israel's terms for these negotiations," Barghouthi added, calling the shooting deaths in Hebron proof of the dangers of heading into talks with a fragmented Palestinian position, and an absence of trust in the leadership in Washington.

Bil'in: Conviction and Tears

Editor Palestine Monitor — 2010-08-28T16:37:57Z

The weekly protest march at the village of Bil'in ended in Israeli Occupation Forces storming the crowd, hitting three activists with tear gas grenades, and shooting a man in the knee with a rubber-coated bullet from less than thirty yards away.

Ashraf Khatib was rushed from the field to the Palestine Medical Center in Ramallah, according to the Bil'in local popular committee.

The march started at the local popular committee headquarters near the Bil'in mosque. Activists from all over the world joined Palestinians and residents in a 150-person protest of the construction of the separation barrier through the village.

“Wahda wahda wataniya!” they chanted.


The protest carried portraits of Mustafa and masks of Rahmah.

Many donned masks of Abdullah Abu Rahmah, a school teacher and leader of the popular struggle at Bil'in, who was convicted last Friday of “incitement” after an eight-month long trial.

“Today we are all Abu Rahmah,” said a village leader before the march. Called the Palestinian Ghandi, the investigation of the non-violence leader prompted a critique by European Union foreign affairs and security chief Catherine Ashton.

“[The conviction] and possible imprisonment is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest against the existence of the separation barriers in a non-violent manner,” read Ashton's statement.


Protesters watching first tear gas canister's ach.

The march snaked down through olive fields in the mid-morning heat, before stopping before a tangle of barbed wire and concrete. The marble grave of Bassem “Pheel” Abu Rahme, the only death since the weekly protest started, nearby. The group shouted at the distant soldiers across the road.


The grave of Bassem Abu Rahme.

Detonation of a sound grenade interrupted the protesters. White trails of tear gas canisters brought gazes skyward tracing the dangerous chemical weapons - Bassem was killed by one.


Tear gas grenade overhead protest.

Clouds drifted over the crowd and many ran, splitting them in two. Twenty minutes of continual waves of tear gas decimated the crowd. Two Palestinians used slingshots to hurl stones at the heavily armed soldiers with riot shields and helmets.


Tear gas canister fumes between protesters.

A cry from the uphill olive groves notified the protesters to running soldiers flanking their frontline position. Many ran back towards the village through the olive trees or up the road. Green uniforms and black guns followed. Eyes streamed tears.


Fleeing boys and men stooped to gather rocks to throw at the advancing soldiers.

“Bil'in is not the only or the first,” said an Israeli organizer before the tear gas and rocks. “But it has become a symble of the struggle against the wall.”


Men running from advancing occupation forces.

ST McNeil reporting from Bil'in.

The Stink of Control

Editor Palestine Monitor — 2010-08-26T09:44:55Z

Sewage thickens the waters of the once pristine Zomar river in northwestern West Bank. With no nearby treatment plants, sludge like this coats the lands, poisoning wells and aquifers, polluting fields and infecting children.

“There is no real life there - it is just waste water,” said Iyad Aburdeieneh, Palestinian Deputy Director of Friends of the Earth Middle East.

Called The Alexander in Israel, the rancid Zomar is not unique in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Twenty-five million cubic meters of untreated sewage - or five Zomar rivers - leak into the West Bank's environment every year, according to the World Bank.


Wadi Nar in the Kidron Valley. Photo by Bethlehem University, Water and Soil Environmental Research Unit

Israel has allowed the Palestinians to build only one waste water treatment facility in the West Bank - and let others deteriorate.

“To even dig and line a septic tank, you need a construction permit at a household level. To dig and put in a cistern to get water, you need a construction permit,” said Michael Talhami, consultant for the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA). “There is an actually policy here resulting in actions taken by the Israelis over the past fifteen to make the Palestinians more dependent not only on water but waste water treatment.”

One in five families are connected to sewage systems, 69 percent use outdated septic tanks (often prohibitively expensive to maintain and empty), and more than 90 percent of all West Bank waste water is untreated, according to a B'Tselem report titled Foul Play.

This is an environmental calamity for people - especially the poor and marginalized. Over 200,000 West Bank Palestinians do not have running water, and rely on easily, continually contaminated surface sources. Old wells have dried up, fields are tainted, and underground cisterns fester. Outside Nablus, the World Bank reported 450 cases of Hepatitis A in the town of Burin. Amoebas sickened one-fifth of nearby Jurish village. Twelve percent of children surveyed in 2006 had diarrhea associated with poor water quality.


Children at Qarawat Beni Zeidi, a water-deprived West Bank village. Photo by Active Stills.

Cara Flowers, an officer with the Emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Group (EWASH), saw the terrible effects of Israel's waste-water freeze while visiting Salfit.

“It was just disgusting - industrial waste and lots of pollutants,” Flowers said. “You can see a lot of children playing in the river - there's not a lot of spots they can go to. It's having a pretty huge, negative impact on their lives. We heard people have been sick from eating crops grown in that area.”

The polluted Zomar flows west from Nablus, converges on the border town of Telkarem, before crossing the Green Line into Israel and becoming the Alexander near Emek Hafer. There, the modern waste water treatment plant of Yad Hana sanitizes the water for use in Israel. Then Yad Hana sends the Palestinian Authority the treatment bill.

“The amount Israel is charging is economically unjustifiable,” Talhami said. The quantities billed for the West Bank alone are unprecedented. “The Palestine National Authority is being charged for additional waste water flows that do not originate in Palestinian communities but, in some cases, from Israeli colonies.”

Over 200 million shekels, or $53 million, are deducted annually by Israel from Palestinian tax revenues, according to a PWA statement.


Shepherd in the Jordan Valley using a well supplied by Israeli water company Mekerot. Photo by Active Stills.

The PWA doesn't want to pay Israel or stay beholden to their treatment facilities. They'd rather do it themselves and keep the cleaned water. But Israel continually denies the necessary permits to do so, perhaps for financial as much as political reasons.

The West Bank buys 52 percent of it's water from the Israeli company Mekerot - but this official statistic is misleading, according to Flowers. In southern Hebron, Palestinians purchase, at inflated prices, most of their water through private, proxy companies supplied by Mekerot.

The West Bank desperately needs water - fresh or grey - since their access to water sources is strictly limited by the occupation. Historical water sources like the Jordan River are off-limits to Palestinians and drying up. Construction of The Wall has cut off seventeen springs and twenty wells. Few new wells are approved and old ones are left to rot, denied maintenance permits. While 80 percent of the enormous Mountain Aquifer's recharge area is Palestinian, they get just 12 percent of it's water.

Palestine's capacity to treat waste water has been systematically retarded by Israel, according to the World Bank report Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Sector Development. Through the managing water agency of the Joint Water Commission (JWC) and the Civil Administration, the Israeli government has consistently blocked Palestinian projects for independent treatment facilities, despite acquiring German investment. According to the report, the JWC represents a “power asymmetry” which gives Israel ultimate power in Palestine while denying Palestinian say in the watershed both people share.

Continual bids to clean the Zomar rivers with a Palestinian-built, operated and controlled plant has been denied since 1996. Despite nine JWC-approved projects, only one facility functions today in the West Bank, reflecting Israel's use of Oslo's JWC for political pressure.

“What we typically see in the JWC is Israel trying to leverage their projects over Palestinian projects. Israel tries to reduce the process down to one of simple horse-trading,” Talhami said. Israel targets specific lands for settlement expansion, stunts local Palestinian development there, and then use their veto power in the “inherently flawed” JWC to force PA to approve the construction.

“We must not forget that these settlements are illegal under international law,” Talhami said, “but the coercion still exists to have Israeli projects approved.”

Downstream in Israeli, the Zomar still reeks. Government officials blame the Arab communities upstream, not the JWC's documented obstruction. In July, managing Director of the Alexander River Authority Nissam Almog told the Jerusalem Post that Palestinian fiscal ineptitude keeps the flow foul. His upstream neighbors “don't seem to mind that their waste is being sent in our direction.”

The sewage from the OPT isn't all Palestinian, however. Of the West Bank's yearly discharge of 91 million cubic meters of waste water, 38 percent comes from Israeli sources. According to B'Tselem, every year Jerusalem and illegal settlements channel 35 million cubic meters of waste water into the West Bank.

Jerusalem pipes half of this deluge to the east, creating the raw sewage nightmare of Wadi Kadrun. Settlements match this outflow; some lack sewage systems and others spill excrement onto Palestinian villages below them.

Forty settlements east of the Green Line are not connected to any waste water facility at all. The settlements of Kfar Adumim, Ofra, and Kiryat Arba for example, don't treat any of their water. Instead, they fill cesspits, pollute the Mountain Aquifer, and dump into the Hebron river, which flows through Israel to Gaza. Many settlements' treatment plants are kaput.

When the treatment plant broke down at the settlement Elon Moreh, it leaked toxic water from it's leather works and meat processors to a neighboring village, according to B'Tselem's 2009 annual report. Acidic enough to burn skin, the sludge “flowed to the olive orchards of ‘Azmut and continued along an open trench in the center of the village, a few meters from homes and alongside the school.”

The Israelis have offered to treat the water. But their price is double-edged: in shekels and independence.

An already cash-strapped Palestinian Authority would pay Israel for increased treatment and lose precious grey water, while it's local watershed and aquifer spoils. Israel would be able to plug the drain and use waste water treatment as political leverage - in effect adding another control to the matrix.

“That's another form of leverage the Israelis use,” Talhami said, “to pit your humanitarian needs against permanent status issues.”

Noxious muck is today's problem - but the inundation menaces a lasting scourge. If the contamination continues, an independent Palestine could inherit a water source stricken, sickened and sullied.

“You don't see what's going on below the ground,” said Aburdeieneh. “A deep column of waste water is slowly, slowly going down. If we continue like this, we wont be able to use the [Zomar] basin for many years.”

If Palestinians can't drink Palestine's waters - who will they pay to quench their thirst?


Hebron River. Photo by Bethlehem University, Water and Soil Environmental Research Unit.

ST McNeil reporting from Ramallah.

Refusal to engage in direct negotiations without a clear settlement freeze

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP — 2010-08-25T14:32:43Z

We have followed with great concern the increasing external pressure, especially from the U.S. and Israel, on the P.A. leadership to shift from indirect negotiations which have not resulted in any progress to direct negotiations without clear and binding terms of reference regarding a complete halt of all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory - including in Jerusalem.

A conference in Ramallah took place in order to announce the firm stand against engaging in any type of negotiation with Israel. A number of political parties such as the Palestinian National Initiative, Popular and Democratic Front, the People's Party and independent figures, including businessman Munib al-Masri, Dr. Mamdouh Al-Aker, Hani Al-Masri and several others.

However, the conference was abruptly ended as it was stormed. The PNI stated that the actions that took place during the conference, such as turning off the electricity and the assault on participants ultimately threatens the freedom of expression , opinion and any attempt of promoting democracy.

The Palestinian National Initiative demanded that the Palestinian National Authority condemn the actions and to bring those responsible to justice as it does not serve the public interest. Actions like these only increase the division between Palestinians at a time when we are in great need for national unity.

Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi condemned the use of violence against the conference and its participants. The actions of certain people including the actions of some elements of security structures represent a threat to freedom of expression, human rights and democracy.

The opinions of Palestinians, both in Palestine and abroad remain unchanged. They refuse engaging in any type of direct negotiation, unless there is an end to the settlement expansion, especially in Jerusalem, an end to the unjust occupation, and ensuring the rights of the Palestinian people including the Right to Return.

Strangling Gaza

Editor Palestine Monitor — 2010-08-23T09:12:07Z

The United Nations and the World Food Programme released on Friday a study of Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip. A condemnation of Israel's conduct, it describes a burgeoning catastrophe mutating dangerously and mercilessly.

“This regime has exacerbated the assault on human dignity triggered by the blockade imposed by Israel since June 2007,” stated the report titled Between the Fence and a Hard Place.

Under Israel's thumb, the occupation is ruining Gaza's land, sea, and mental and physical health.

Because of the siege, more adults are depressed, more children are wetting their beds and earning worse grades. Nutrition is deteriorating. Disenfranchised breadwinners are increasingly beating their partners.


Gazan woman in rubble of her home.

West Bank Deputy Secotr Lead Antoine Renard described the rules of the blockade: “No movement of people, they are very restricted on what can be imported, and there's practically a total ban on exports.”

Debt plagues families, children can't go to school, and farms degenerate. The blockade and occupation has cost Gazans $308 million in property, $50.2 million in agriculture profit, and $26.5 million in fish harvest.

“The private sector is moribund,” Renard said. Before the blockade, Gaza exported lucrative cash-crops like strawberries and flowers - now domestic farming is their only option. “As long as you cannot have raw material in Gaza because of the blockade, the economy cannot pick up.”

1994's Oslo Agreements allotted Gaza 20 nautical miles of maritime rights into the Mediterranean, but today 85 percent of these productive waters are cut-off by Israeli gunships. Fisherman are shot, flotillas are boarded and ships are confiscated if they breach the illegally cordoned security zone. Traders risk death and injury sneaking past Israeli and Egyptian navies to buy fish. Others smuggle goods through tunnels.

“The current restrictions of civilian access to Gaza's land and sea must be urgently lifted to the fullest extent possible,” stated the report, calling on full withdrawal of troops, an enduring ceasefire, and cooperation with humanitarian aid as demanded by UN Security Council Resolution 1860.

Starvation and bullets symbolize the current problem - but long-term threats lurk. The Gazan coastal aquifer, fed by the Hebron river meandering west across Beersheba to the coast, is in danger of irrevocable contamination. Through the Joint Water Commission and Civil Administration, Israel has blocked necessary waste water treatment facilities, and every year 80 million liters of foul water runs over Gaza towards the sea, trailing pollution.

The Green Line enclosing Gaza is now a barren scar of land. Expanded by an Israeli-enforced security zone up to 1,500 meters wide, the fence has cut into 17 percent of Gaza's total landmass and 35 percent of it's farming land. Made up of “high risk” and “no-go” areas, this land is razed by Israeli patrols more than three times a week. Such forces typically are “between four to ten military vehicles (tanks, bulldozers, military jeeps), frequently accompanied by helicopters, drones and heavy bursts of fire.”

Two satellite photographs of Beit Hanoun, comparing fertile 2005 and a desolate 2008, is evidence of this environmental devastation.

Israel clears out these fields as preemptive and reprisal attacks against civilians. If violent factions within Gaza attack Israel forces from civilian land, it is destroyed. This is collective punishment, Renard said.

“Civilians should not be targeted in these areas,” Renard said. “You're not as a civilian responsible for it.”


Neighborhood in Gaza. Photo by Telegraph.co.uk

For Gaza's 1.5 million residents, Israel's 2005 disengagement meant an intensification of suffering.

Since then, Israel has destroyed 18,000 dunums of olive, almond, citrus and grapes fields, 5,800 dunums of lucrative greenhouses, more than 300 water wells, six factories, 197 chicken farms, 377 sheep farms, 996 homes, three mosques, and three schools.

In Gaza, the disengagement meant a shift from troops to hardware and hi-tech weaponry like drones, brutal flechette bombs and remote-controlled turrets. Operating these machine-guns, an all-female cadre of Israeli soldiers track and attack targets in a distant bunker, watching relays of satellite images, ground sensors, and aircraft manned and unmanned. Using joysticks and buttons, one soldier compared the system to a Sony Playstation.

The report is a dreadful documentation of atrocity. The army besieges a land, poisons the water, targets fishers and farmers, and deploys the latest weapons of war, watching it live via satellite.

Israel still grasps Gaza's throat.

ST McNeil reporting from Ramallah.

Open Letter of Appeal to the Jewish people

Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate — 2010-08-23T08:03:05Z

Dear Friends,

I write to ask for your help in gaining the freedom of a good man, a man of peace, and a man of conscience.

In the Jewish scriptures there is great emphasis on justice and freedom and it is for such, for one man, that I write to seek your help.

He will not be aware that I am writing this Appeal, but I do so in the hope that, with your help, it will produce his freedom, and not (and this I must risk) cause yet more punishment and cruelty to be inflicted upon him.

However, I feel when I tell you the story, it will touch your hearts and there will be those amongst you who will be able to help him gain his freedom.

In May,2010, this man was returned to prison to serve three months for allegedly breaking his prison release restrictions and speaking to Foreign Media. On Sunday llth July,2010, he had his first visit in seven weeks. His brother, Meir, was granted a 30 minute visit. There was a glass window between them and they spoke via the phone. He wore a prison uniform. He is held in the hardest prison section there is in the prison. It has the most notorious criminals in the country, well known hard murder cases. All about a dozen are in severe isolation conditions. He is in a cell by himself for 24 hours a day, no window but a small wire covered crack at the top part of one wall. He has about an hour's walk a day in a very tiny yard. He was simply thrown in a cell by the security agents, the door locked, and left to suffer there all alone. He has not spoken to anyone in all the seven weeks and this visit was (apart from a short visit of his lawyer 6 weeks ago) the first conversation he had in seven weeks. His food is limited in quality and quantity, and his reading material two books he has with him. Of course his spirits are down as a result of being put in such harsh, inhuman and cruel conditions.

His name is Mordechai Vanunu, and he is in an Israeli prison cell. Mordechai is no stranger to prison. In l986 Mordechai Vanunu told the world that Israel had a Nuclear Weapons Programme and he was given 18 years imprisonment for doing so. He is the Israeli Nuclear whistle blower and 24 years later continues to be punished for trying to warn the Israelis and protect both Israel and the world from a Nuclear weapons disaster. Mordechai Vanunu served the full 18 years of his sentence (eleven years in solitary ) and upon release, instead of allowing him to leave Israel, the Israeli Government put severe restrictions upon him, including forbidding him to leave Israel and not to speak to foreign media. It was the allegedly breaking of these restrictions and speaking to Foreign media, which resulted in Mordechai being returned to prison for 3 months. He has 6 weeks left to serve in these harsh prison conditions, and even upon release from prison will still have to remain in Israel until next April, 2011 when the restrictions will be reviewed and probably renewed yet again, as they have been renewed each year for the past 6 years. Some people say Vanunu will never be allowed to leave Israel but will die there, if indeed in the meantime his spirit is not broken by his ill treatment and he losses his sanity. The Shabak continues to tell the Israeli Government he is a security risk and must not be released and the Israeli Judiciary and Government obey them and keep him imprisoned. Vanunu is no risk to Israeli National Security. He has no nuclear Secrets. I have asked some Israelis why they think Israel refuses to allow Mordechai Vanunu to leave Israel. Various reasons are given but the most frequent answer is they feel the Israeli Government does not trust its citizens and holding Mordechai Vanunu, forever, if necessary sends out the signal to Israeli Citizens to behave themselves.

It seems, if this is so, that the strategy is working. To date only a few courageous Jewish people have raised their voices against such cruelty and injustice perpetrated upon Mordecai, and called for him to be allowed to leave Israel. But I don't believe Mordechai will never be allowed to leave Israeli and will die in Jerusalem. I have met Mordechai many times since he was released from prison on 2lst April, 2004. He is a good man, a man of peace, and a true Gandhian spirit. Instead of punishing him, Israel should be proud of Mordechai Vanunu, and I believe that future generations of Israelis will look back and realize that there lived amongst them a great visionary and man of peace, not only for Israel, but for the human family. It was with great joy I nominated him several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, as did many other prominent names during the past 24 years. He richly serves the NPP as he lives and acts in the true spirit of Alfred Nobel, who left his prize for those who would work for peace and disarmament.

However, it is with the deepest sadness that I acknowledge that in spite of world campaigns by many, including Amnesty International, and many others, Mordechai Vanunu continues 24 years later to be most cruelly imprisoned and punished by Israel.

However, I have hope that he will be free and I place my hope in those Jewish people who read this story and are moved to right a wrong continuing to be done to Mordechai Vanunu, and they will demand that their Government give him his freedom, and allow him to leave Israel.

Shalom, Mairead Maguire Nobel Peace Laureate

www.peacepeople.com 14.7.2010

Mairead Maguire was awarded the l976 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring Peace to Northern Ireland. Her writings The Vision of Peace (edited by John Dear) Are available from www.wipfandstock.com. For info see www.peacepeople.com

Sailing on the MV Rachel Corrie to Gaza 30th May, 2010 – 5th June, 2010.

Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate — 2010-08-23T07:56:01Z

In April 2010, I received an invitation from the Free Gaza Movement to sail on one of their boats the ‘MV Rachel Corrie' to Gaza. The Cargo boat would be part of an 8 boat Freedom flotilla sailing to try to break the siege of Gaza, and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

I accepted Free Gaza's invitation to go on what would be my third sailing on one of the free Gaza Boats. On my first journey in October, 2008, on board the ‘Dignity' we got into Gaza. During my second journey in June, 2010, our boat the ‘Spirit of Humanity' was boarded illegally in International waters by Israeli Navy and all 2l human rights activists were kidnapped and taken illegally to Ashdod, arrested, held in prison for a week and finally deported from Israel. This was an act of piracy in International waters by Israeli Government commandoes.

MV Rachel Corrie Cargo Boat. It was the dream of Derek and Jenny Graham, from Mayo, Ireland, who lived in Cyprus, (and were members of Free Gaza Movement), to have a Free Gaza cargo ship sail from Ireland, and join the Freedom Flotilla. On 30th March, 2010, a l,200 ton cargo ship was purchased by the Free Gaza Movement, enabled by a special fund set up by former Malasian Prime Minister and Perdana Global Peace Organization's Chairman, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed. This donation paid for the purchase of the MV Rachel Corrie (70,000 euros).

On 12th May, 2010 in Dundalk, Ireland, the boat MV Linda, was renamed the MV Rachel Corrie. This was in honour of the late Rachel Corrie, a 23 year old American College student, who was crushed to death by an Israeli soldier in a bulldozer, as she tried to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza.

On 14th May, 2010, the MV Rachel Corrie sailed from Dundalk, Ireland, to join the International Freedom Flotilla whose intention and mission was to break the illegal Israeli imposed siege of the Gaza strip and deliver its 700 tons of humanitarian aid, 550 tons cement, medical supplies, educational material, for the besieged population of Gaza. This aid came from Ireland, Scotland, USA, and Norway (which donated writing paper and education materials). Before leaving the Port of Dundalk the cargo was checked, and sealed, by three separate bodies, including Irish Government and Port officials. The seals to the Cargo were not broken until the Israeli Navy done so, when the Rachel Corrie was boarded illegally by them on 5th June, 2010 in International waters outside Gaza's 25 mile zone.

28th May, 2010 - I flew to Cyprus, only to be informed that the MV Rachel Corrie Had been delayed and would now sail to Malta, instead of Cyprus, and from there to Gaza.

29th I flew to Malta, with all of those who intended to board The Rachel Corrie to set sail to Gaza.

Sunday 30th May, 2010 the Rachel Corrie moored off the coast of Malta to Fill up with water and supplies. That evening all eleven passengers (6 Malaysian and 5 Irish) travelled out in a small boat and boarded the Rachel Corrie to join the Crew who had sailed the boat from Ireland. On the small boat and also on board the MV Rachel Corrie some passengers were ‘seasick' but eventually all gained their sea legs and were relieved and happy that at last we were sailing to Gaza with our precious cargo of people and goods. That evening the Rachel Corrie' set sail from Malta, on the last leg of her 3,000 mile journey from Ireland to Gaza.

The 11 Activists on board the MV Rachel Corrie were: Irish Passengers (5) Denis Halliday, Former UN Ass. Sec. General, Ireland. Derek Graham, Free Gaza Ireland Jenny Graham, Free Gaza, Ireland Fiona Thompson, Film-maker, Ireland Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, Peace People, Ireland.

Malasian Passengers (6) Mohd Jufri Bin Mohd Judin Journalist, Malaysia Admed Faizal bin Azuma, Human Rights Worker Malaysia Matthias Chang, Attorney, Author and Human Rights worker, Malaysia Shamsul Akmar Bin Mohamed, Journalist, Malaysia. The Hon. Mohd Nizar Zakaria, Member of Parliament, Malaysia. Abdul Halim Bin Mohamed, Journalist, Malaysia.

We had two Satellite phones which we used on Mid Desk to communicate with family, Free Gaza support team, media, etc.,

3lst May (Monday) In the early hours of the morning (5-6 hours out of Port of Malta) we received a call from media, to ask for our comments regarding the massacre on board the Mavi Marmara. This was the first sparse information we had about the massacre. The Malaysian passengers on board our boat managed to get in touch with their on-land support team who gave them as much information as they had obtained. Derek Graham called a meeting of all passengers to inform us of the massacre, though at this stage full details were, as yet, unknown. We sat together in silence and prayer, in respect for all those who were killed and injured on board the Mavi Marmara, for their families, and for all those on board the Freedom Flotilla boats, all of whom we learned had been illegally boarded and taken to Ashdod, Israel. We lowered the flags to half mask. We issued a Press Release stating our condemnation of Israelis illegal killings and injuries on board the Mavi Marmara and the other boats of the flotilla. We extended our condolences to the families and via media interview called for an independent enquiry into the Israeli killings on board the Turkish ship. We also stated our clear intention to continue sailing to Gaza.

The mood on board the MV Rachel Corrie, when we heard of the massacre Of people on board the Mavi Marmara was one of deep sadness and distress that this should happen to unarmed people, who were people of peace and wanted to help Gaza. We had all been determined before this massacre to sail straight to Gaza and nothing would stop us, but on learning of this unprovoked Military attack by Israeli commandoes upon innocent unarmed Turkish people, we were all even more determined to sail to Gaza, in memory and respect for those who had been killed and injured. When it was confirmed to us that the entire Freedom Flotilla had been commandeered by the Israeli Navy, (an act of piracy in International water by Israel) we were sad that people had been killed, and also that the people of Gaza would, yet again, be let down and so we felt that as the only FreeGaza boat left, it was important, no matter what the risk to ourselves, to keep sailing to Gaza.

Derek Graham held a meeting with the Captain and the crew. He explained what we had heard about the Freedom Flotilla and asked in light of this news what they wanted to do, regarding us continuing to sail to Gaza.. To their great credit every one of them courageously agreed to keep sailing to Gaza. This was an amazing decision on the part of the Captain and Crew. They were not activists, they had been hired to do a job not risk their lives, jobs, futures, get detained, arrested and deported from Israel. All that this hazardous journey entailed, yet it is testimony to the human spirit, that to a man every one of them without hesitation agreed to go forward to Gaza, no matter what.

There was tremendous media interest in the fact that this little boat was continuing, in spite of everything, to sail for Gaza. Our journey was being followed by many. We heard people were calling for our safe passage to Gaza, and in Malaysia, a special interfaith service had been held. We ourselves were not concerned for our own safety, rather we were concerned that the Turkish peace activists had been killed and Injured, also that the people of Gaza were trapped in their open air prison anxiously awaiting our arrival. (We phoned some people in Gaza when we were off the shore and they said the people of Gaza were preparing for us, and hoping we would get through).

We were on the boat for 6 full days and after the tragedy of the Freedom Flotilla, we Continued sailing and everyone settled into helping each other. Our Muslim passengers prayed faithfully five times a day on the deck of the ship, and others meditated, prayed, read, and took time to make friends with the amazing companions we had the privledge to be sailing with to Gaza. I was amazed, at the spirit of peace, calmness and real friendship amongst us all. There was never an argument and no dissent, just a sense of purpose and a determination to fulfil the mission given us by Free Gaza movement, sail to gaza to break the siege and support the people in their efforts for freedom.

Outside in the big world, the propaganda machine was putting out lies and distortions about the Rachel Corrie. We got phone calls asking us if we were turning around or being diverted to Israel, or to Egypt, or talking to Israeli Gov., We replied we were heading for Gaza, and we had had no contact to date with the Israeli Government. Many media made requests to join us, such as Al Jazzera, BBC, CNN. We welcomed the proposal that International media would join us but the problem was how they could actually get on board. The Captain would not give permission for anyone to come on board due to high water swells, but he agreed that a Helicopter could land, but for various reasons this did not work out.

4th June, 2010 (Friday) we heard from the Irish Foreign Ministry that the Irish Government had reached an agreement with Israel that if the Rachel Corrie diverted to Ashdod ,Israeli Port, they would allow the aid on board to be transferred to trucks in Ashdod and be sent to Gaza accompanied by 2 people from Rachel Corrie. We did not agree to this and the Irish Government respected our decision.

5th June (Saturday) early in the morning, whilst in International waters approximately 65 to 70 nautical miles from the Gaza coast we began to be shadowed by 2 Israeli warships. We informed the Gaza Movement and Perdana Global Peace organization and press releases were issued as these warships came closer and were joined by other vessels.

By 6.30 a.m., in the morning there were 4 Israeli vessels in sight. Both our satellite navigation equipment and our 2 satellite phones had their signals electronically blocked by the Israeli navy, endangering the safety of the boat. All radio communication with the outside world was cut by the Israeli navy who were jamming the satellite equipment. This endangered all on board and we were left with no contact beyond localised radio communication with the Israeli navy who were jamming the satellite equipment.

At 6.30 a.m., the Israeli Navy radioed the Rachel Corrie and spoke to Derek Graham. This was the first time the Israeli Navy had made contact with the Rachel Corrie. The Israeli navy gave warning to Derek Graham (on Channel 16) and told him we had no permission to enter the port of Gaza as it was a closed Israeli military zone and to turn back. They told Derek the boat should go to Ashdod and they offered to deliver (with Derek Graham accompanying it) our aid into Gaza. Derek replied their offer was not acceptable to us as our mission was to deliver the aid to Gaza ourselves and break the siege. The Israeli navy used the ships former name, MV Linda, and not the Rachel Corrie, and this is a practice that breaches international maritime law. Derek informed them we were in International waters and had stopped our engines and were staging a peaceful protest. The Israeli navy said they were going to board the boat. Derek informed them that all passengers and crew, (apart from himself who would stay in the wheel-house), would be in mid ship, between the cargo hatches. It was made clear to Israelis Navy that if they insisted on boarding us illegally in International waters, there would be no violent resistance, used by any of us, and we would be Nonviolent. Derek arranged to get notice from the Navy before they came on board, so we all had time to assembly on mid-deck in full view of the commandoes. The crew put down rope ladders for the Navy commandoes to come on board our ship. Derek also offered (4 times) that the Ship and Cargo could be inspected by the United Nations or similar body, but this offer was not accepted. We had previously on the media many times made this offer of Inspection by UN inspectors. At this point we were still in International waters, and outside Gaza 25 mile zone.

5th June, 11 a.m., We saw two Israeli warships (about 10 miles away) and 2 Navy Seal carriers, and 6 Zodiacs, and we were warned they were sending Commandoes to board our boat. All passengers and crews, assembled in Mid Ship awaiting their arrival. There was no panic everyone was perfectly calm. When the 35 Israeli navy seals (4 of whom were women who searched the three women activists ) and l dog came on board from their Zodiacs. All their faces were covered, and blackened, and they wore full riot gear. Each one had several weapons and they pointed one of these at each of us. We were all sitting in mid ship. I remember looking up to the Wheel House where Derek Graham stood alone his hands up against the window and I admired his courage and hoped he would be safe remembering what happened to those on board the Mavi Marmara. Both Derek Graham and his wife Jenny have all our admiration and thanks as it is due to their courage and calm that we all came through safely. They both are living example of nonviolent love in action and we were all pleased to have them as leaders on the Rachel Corrie's journey to Gaza.

We were all searched and all passports, mobiles, computers, cameras, etc., taken from us. Some soldiers took the Chief Engineer below to the Engine Room. Derek Graham was up in the Wheel house and six soldiers went up and commandeered the Wheel House. Derek Graham had his hands tied behind his back and made to kneel for 45 minutes before being taken to join the Crew. We sat for several hours in the hot sun, while the soldiers searched the ship. Eventually the passengers were taken below to the Captains office, where we sat for 3 hours during the sailing to Ashdod. We had nothing to eat but we were allowed to drink water. There was no shouting, no violence, and everyone remained very calm and orderly.

All the Security tags were still in tact on the Cargo in the hatches, when the Israel Soldiers went below to search the ship. Jenny Graham was commanded to accompany the soldiers around the ship to open locked cabins.

The boat was then sailed to Ashdod Port in Israel. As we sailed into the Port we saw the Mavi Marmara Turkish boat and all the other free Gaza boats docked. We descended the gang plank off the boat surrounded by Israeli soldiers and were taken off individually to be searched with our luggage. Jenny Graham was strip-searched at Ashdod Port. We were then driven by bus to a Processing Centre, where we were each individually photographed, fingerprinted, and questioned by IDF. They asked me why we did not accept agreement made between Irish and Israeli Gov. for the Rachel Corrie to divert to Ashdod and the aid to be taken to Gaza. They also wanted to know who were in charge on the other Flotilla boats. I refused to answer any questions saying I wanted a lawyer.

A further interview took place with a female Israeli officer. When I refused to sign the forms she had, which were in Hebrew, stating that we had entered Israel illegally, and asked for a lawyer she was very angry and threatened me with prison if I did not sign the forms and co-operate. I refused and was returned to the main room to join the others.

Several hours later when everyone was processed in a similar manner, we were bussed to Ben Gurion Detention Centre. It was midnight at this stage. Here we were met by the Irish Ambassador O'Reilly, the Irish Ambassador to Israel and Irish Consulate, Conor Long. They arranged for us to phone our families. After some consultation and we got an assurance that all passengers and crew would be released without charge and returned home the following day, the Irish passengers agreed to be repatriated to Ireland.

Sunday 6th June, 2010. Jenny Graham, Fiona Thompson and mysef were taken to a cell block together. We had a meeting with an Irish Consulate rep., who informed us Of details regarding our flights. Fiona and Jenny were allowed out several times to smoke, but as they had no light and the guard refused to give them one, they were unable to smoke. I was not given my medication on Saturday but after several requests allowed to get this from my bag on Sunday. We were given tap water and sandwiches during the day. At 8 p.m. we were taken to the airport where our luggage was checked And we were processed for flights. Here we saw the Crew who were leaving for the flights home to Philippines, and Cuba. The Captain had already flown home to Scotland and our five Malaysian friends had gone home via Jordan earlier that day. We were returned to Ben Gurion Detention Centre, but this time to a different cell. It as the cell I had been in last June, 2009, when I was detained in this centre after being arrested, imprisoned for a week and finally deported from Israel.

7th June – Monday. Early in the morning the Irish Group, Denis Halliday, Jenny and Derek Graham, Fiona Thompson and myself were escorted to Ben Gurion Airport To fly via Frankfurt, to Dublin, Ireland. Our flights had been arranged and paid for by Irish Government.

During our entire captivity on the confiscated Rachel Corrie, our arrival in Ashdod, our illegal detention in Ben Gurion Detention Centre, until we were eventually repatriated back to Ireland, there was huge military security around us and we were kept incommunicardo for three days (apart from one phone call to our families arranged by Irish Ambassador, and one meeting with Irish consulate on Sunday).

The Irish Delegation arrived home to a great reception in Dublin from families and supporters of Palestine. The press release , organized by IPSC and our thanks go To those who organized this, and to the Irish Government for their help during our Mission to Gaza.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep admiration to all those with whom I sailed on the Free Gaza Boat ‘MV Rachel Corrie'. They were the best of the best of the human spirit. Their kindness, courage and courtesy will always remain with me as a reminder as to how we should treat each other, with dignity and respect. To Derek and Jenny Graham whose concern for the suffering of the people of Gaza, drives them to act with loving enthusiasm and wonderful energy. To Fiona who took all the films at great risk to her own safety, to Matthias, Denis, Shamsul, Faizal, Jufri, Nizar, thank you all for your courage and compassion.

To out brave Captain and his great crew – all of whom proved that when faced with others' suffering, particularly that of the children, people do care, and are prepared to put their lives on line to make a difference. They give us hope for humanity.

To all those who helped in any way. Particularly to the families of all of us who supported us and were with us in spirit on the Rachel Corrie journey. To my friends in the Peace People who supported me so much from Belfast. Also to the FreeGaza Movement for their work in helping to organize the Freedom Flotilla.

To the people of Gaza. We are sorry we never got to you. Sorry to have raised your hopes and dashed them when we, yet again, were diverted against our will and wishes to Ashdod. But the Freedom Flotilla will be back and someday God willing (En shallah) Gaza's seaport (after 42 years of forced closure by Israeli military occupation) will be open and Palestinians will have free access to their waters and the world. Some day too Gaza's Airport will be reopened (after having been bombed by Israeli military) and they will be free to cross and trade through the land crossings. All this will happen, not because the freegaza movements sails to Gaza (but this helps) but because the people of Gaza and Palestine have keep faithful to their nonviolent resistance to demand an end to the occupation and their right to self determination and human dignity.

To all those who made the journey possible, particularly our Malasian friends for their financial help and those who travelled on the Rachel Corrie, thank you.

Special thanks to all those who travelled on board the Mavi Marmara and to those who gave their lives on board the Turkish ship. We pray God that their sacrifice will not have been in vain, and that the consciences of the International Community has been moved to act for justice for the people of Gaza and Palestinian People.

We also hope that the International independent enquiry into the massacre by Israeli soldiers, of the nine peace activists, on board the Mavi Marmara, will bring forth the truth and justice will be done for those people who died so needlessly as they tried to help those suffering in Gaza.

Salam, Mairead Maguire Nobel Peace Laureate July, 2010

www.peacepeople.com

MV Rachel Corrie Passanger Report available on www.irishingaza.wordpress.com www.peacepeople.com

Full MV Mavi Marmara Report: IHH www.ihh.org.tr (tel: O2126312121)

Palestinian factions have mixed feelings over talks

Maan News — 2010-08-21T07:00:57Z

Mustafa Barghouthi, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, described Clinton's statement that there would be no "pre-conditions" to talks as effectively acquiescing to Israel's demands, a move he described as "shameful."

Clinton said she believed all issues could be resolved within one year, seemingly offering some reassurance to Abbas, however Barghouthi noted that even this was not given as a deadline.

Predicting that the talks would be a "bigger failure" than Camp David, Barghouthi told Ma'an that negotiations would provide a cover for Israeli violations on the ground.

The independent lawmaker said Palestinians need an "immediate alternative strategy" to build their own "facts on the ground" by unilaterally declaring a state on all occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem.

An earlier statement by the official said "going to direct talks with Israel without halting settlement and setting references will lead to a larger and more dangerous failure than the Camp David summit in 2000."

Barghouthi expressed disappointment that the international community failed to pressure Israel to at least extend the partial freeze on settlement construction, due to expire later this month.

http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=309501

U.S. support for Israel is decreasing, new poll shows

Editor Palestine Monitor — 2010-08-21T06:30:16Z

American support for Israel is waning, a poll presented to senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem last week revealed.

The survey was carried out by pollster and strategist Stanley Greenberg and sponsored by the American Jewish organization the Israel Project, which organizes and executes pro-Israel public relations campaigns with a focus on North America.

Greenberg, along with Israel Project heads, presented the poll's findings to senior Israeli officials, including President Shimon Peres, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, as well as officials from the Prime Minister's office.

One of the questions that the poll presented was "Does the U.S. need to support Israel?" In August of 2009, 63% of Americans polled said that the U.S. does need to support Israel. In June of this year, 58% of respondents shared the same view; by July only 51% of respondents said the U.S. needed to support Israel.

Another question posed by the pole was "Is the Israeli government committed to peace with the Palestinians?" In December of 2007, 66% of respondents said that the government, then led by Ehud Olmert, was committed to peace with the Palestinians. In June of 2009, a month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House, only 46% of Americans said they believed the Netanyahu government was committed to peace.

In the months of May and June, there appeared to be a positive change in American public opinion on the matter, with 53% of respondents saying they believe Netanyahu seeks peace. However, in July, only 45% of American said they felt Netanyahu was committed to the peace process. Thirty-nine percent responded that Netanyahu and his administration are not committed to seeking peace with the Palestinians.

Greenberg has analyzed the poll results and says that the section of the American public where Israel is most rapidly losing support is among Liberal Americans who align themselves with the Democratic Party. Greenberg's data showed similar findings among public opinion in Germany and Sweden. Only 19% of German respondents said they felt "warm" or "very warm" feelings toward Israel, while 50% responded they experienced "very cold" or unfavorable feelings toward Israel.

The survey also showed Germans favored Palestinians over Israel, with 26% percent saying they felt "warm" or "very warm" feelings toward them and 39% feeling "cold" or "very cold" feelings toward Palestinians.

Greenberg conducted similar surveys in European countries and said the data reflects the worst time for Israel with regard to German public opinion since 2008.

In France, the data were a little better, but Israel did not achieve widespread public support there either: 24% said they felt "warm" or "very warm" feelings toward Israel, while 31% felt "cold" or "very cold" feelings toward it.

Greenberg noted, however, that these findings have remained stable over the last three years. Meanwhile, in Sweden, the situation was similar to that in Germany, with 49% percent saying their feelings toward Israel were "cold" or "very cold."

Justifying Pogroms and Infanticide

Editor Palestine Monitor — 2010-08-19T09:49:33Z

With thick beards, wide-brimmed hats, black suits and long curls, almost 300 rabbis and settlers filled the Conference for the Independence of Torah last night in Jerusalem's Ramada Renaissance Hotel. From wrinkled elders to pimply adolescents, they all came to proclaim rabbinical autonomy from the law. Rabbis should be able to argue within their religious teachings without legal consequence - even if they call for blood.


“There is justification for killing babies if it is clear that they will grow up to harm us, and in such a situation they may be harmed deliberately, and not only during combat with adults,” wrote Rabbi Yitzhar Shapira in The King's Torah. Photo from 2008 rally, by Rita Castelnuovo.

The rabbis congregated after an investigation focused on the publication and promotion of a book called Torat haMelekh or The King's Torah, allegedly inciting violent settler attacks in the West Bank.

“It's just disgusting,” said Pesach Housfter, a rabbi protesting the meeting and angered by it's tacit support of The King's Torah, written by rabbi Yitzhak Shapira. “[The book] says Judaism allows killing of children who aren't Jews - this is blasphemy.”


“The King's Torah = Blasphemy” in Hebrew. Protesting rabbi said, “Show this to the Palestinians - so they know not all Jews are like this.” Photo by ST McNeil.

Outside the Ramada, Housfter and five other rabbis were fiercely confronted, outnumbered to fifty to one. They held fast, Housfter said, because this is a “turning point in Israeli society” towards bigotry or equality.

“Our struggle is to protect Israeli democracy,” Housfter said, decrying the racism inherent in the conference's protection of incendiary intolerance. “They are against democracy. They are against the law.”

Before dawn on 27 July, Israeli forces stormed the author Shapira's home. The details of the religious Zionist's arrest led to the Ramada conference. Shapira was held overnight, blindfolded and questioned by Israeli security agency Shin Beit over alleged incitement of a fiery assault on the village of Burin the day before.

Using the Talmud, Shapira condones and requires murder and aggression against threatening goyim or gentiles: non-Jewish youth, parents and communities.

It is the second time police have questioned Shapira this year - in January he was detained for alleged involvement in torching a mosque's carpet in the town of Yusuf.


Car pushed down hill by Yitzhar's settlers outside Nablus.

Shapira lives in the Yitzhar settlement less than ten kilometers south of Nablus, teaching at the yeshiva Od Yosef Hair. Their neighbors bear deep scars of his vicious dogma.

In 2008, seven cars carried 30 people from Shapira's settlement to Burin. They threw stones and smashed cars before burning the village's olive grove. On the same day, other settlers savaged the surrounding lands. The settlers continued to violently harass their Palestinian neighbors in 2009: they chainsawed Khallit Sewar's groves, they set aflame 400 dunums of land, they stole livestock and farming equipment.


Olive trees in Burin after Yitzhar attack. Photo by Keren Manor.

“We're afraid to use the ground floor, even though it has bars on the windows, out of fear that settlers will fire bullets or tear gas into the house,” said Nahlah Ahmad, mother of four, in a testimony to human rights group B'Tselem. “In the evening, we can't sit in the yard because the children are afraid. Every time they hear a noise, they ask me: ‘Is that the settlers?'”

“We heard stones hit the roof and walls of our house,” Ahmad said, describing when Yitzhar settlers attacked her home in 2009.. “I didn't know where to take the children. I was afraid that the settlers would shoot us through the window, and I told the children to sit in the corner of their room. My husband and I sat with them to calm them. We were very frightened, but hid our fear from the children. The children held onto us and wouldn't let us move away from them, even to bring water or go to the bathroom.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called one of Yitzhar's attacks in 2008 a “pogrom” - using a Russian-derived word historically connected to anti-Semitism now used to define mob violence with ethnic targets.

On 26 July, 120 settlers descended on Burin. With fire and saw, they ravaged the olive groves and rioted across the land. A settler stole a gun from Israeli police inside Yitzhar and fired skyward. Tires were burned on a nearby Highway 60 intersection. Settlers stoned police investigating an illegal construct at Aid Ad. That night, the police arrested Shapira.

These attacks reflect the settlers' “price tag” policy - retaliation to Israeli enforcement of the internationally-supported freeze on settler expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As an example, Burin's latest attacks were instigated by Israeli Occupation Forces demolishing an illegal caravan inside the Havat Shaked settlement. Attempting to force public opinion, to terrorize Knesset into inaction or complicity to ensure further growth, the settlers have a clear message for President Benyamin Netanyahu's coalition: restrict the settlements and we will brutalize Arabs.


Villager wounded by settler attack on Burin. Photo by Keren Manor.

Inspired by the rabble-rousing rabbis like Shapira, the settlers' violence has one obvious goal - the ethnic cleansing of Eretz Israel exclusively for Yahweh's chosen people.

The settlers enjoy stout support within Knesset and Netanyahu's coalition - regardless of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority and international pressure since the violent Gazan flotilla clash. The political power of staunch-settlement proponents like Benny Begin and Avigdor Lieberman, himself a former member of Zionist terrorist group Kach, belies their small population.

“Although it is a handful of people, it's a serious cause for concern,” said Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights, which works with communities like Burin and Silwan to confront the settlers. “They do a lot of damage.”

When Shapira was arrested, a coalition of Knesset members, rabbis within the Religious Zionist Movement and the moderate organization Tzohar rallied to decry his treatment - a rabbi should have been treated better.

"Regardless of the level of halachic [rabbinical jurisprudence] legitimacy of his opinions, it is unreasonable and illogical that a rabbi in Israel be treated like the worst of criminals,” Tzohar leader Rabbi David Stav told Ynet. “For some reason, they are treating him in a way they would not dare treat public officials or even Palestinians."

Palestinians are, however, subject to treatment much harsher than a blindfold. According to a Public Committee Against Torture in Israel report, Israeli forces routinely abuse prisoners and detain them for lengthy periods of time. Defence for Children International documented 700 cases of Israeli security services torturing, threatening, blindfolding and binding minors. In some cases car battery leads were connected to children's body parts.

Shapira was released less than 24 hours after his arrest. Currently, no legal action is being taken against Burin's assailants.

“Like my mother used to say - you've got freedom to swing your first until you hit someone's nose,” Ascherman said. After finding a complete copy, he plans to challenge the arguments of The King's Torah.

“It's disgusting, antithetical to Judaism as I believe it, and it's damaging to God's name,” Ascherman said. “We have to take this seriously.”

ST McNeil reporting from Jerusalem.