Israelis Against the Wall

“It is the duty of Israeli citizens to resist immoral policies and actions carried out in out name…”

These words are extracts from the website of ‘Anarchists against the wall’, a group of Israelis who have made it their purpose to oppose the wall of separation (also known as wall of shame) being built around the occupied Palestinian territories. At a time when most of Israeli society appears at best ignorant of the plight it is imposing on other human beings, these men and women dedicate time and effort to raise awareness and engage in non-violent resistance against the same authorities that claim to act in their name and protect them against Arab barbarism. In their latest action it is reported that they plastered Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with posters denouncing the collective punishment imposed through blockade on the Gaza strip.

Arabdemocracy

For more information please check their website http://www.awalls.org/

Also from the 6/12/07 edition of the Lebanese Al-akhbar newspaper:

فوجئ سكان تل أبيب والقدس الغربية المحتلة أمس بوجود بيانات ألصقها ناشطون من حركة «فوضويون ضد الجدار» على أبواب منازلهم تنبئهم بقطع التيار الكهربائي عن المدينتين أسوة باعتزام السلطات الإسرائيلية قطع الكهرباء عن قطاع غزة.
وذكرت وسائل إعلام إسرائيلية أن قرابة 70 ناشطاً من حركة «الفوضويون» اليسارية علقوا نحو 10 آلاف بيان على أبواب المنازل والبنايات ولوحات الإعلانات العامة في تل أبيب والقدس الغربية. وأشارت إلى أن البيانات مشابهة للتي تصدر عن شركة الكهرباء الإسرائيلية لدى إعلانها قطع الكهرباء.
وشدّد «الفوضويون» على أنه «لا توجد أي شرعية في العقاب الجماعي للمواطنين (في غزة)، حتى إن الجيش الإسرائيلي أكد أنه لا احتمال لأن تؤدي إلى وقف صواريخ القسام».
وأضافوا أنه «بواسطة هذا النشاط، نحاول زيادة وعي المواطنين الإسرائيليين لعشوائية هذه الخطوات العدوانية ومحاولة حشد تعاطف مع ضائقة مواطني قطاع غزة».
يذكر أن حركة «الفوضويون» هي أكثر الحركات الإسرائيلية التي تنشط ضد جدار الفصل في الضفة الغربية.
(يو بي آي)

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I Am Not Neutral

By Joseph El-Khoury

Neutrality would be classed as a ‘Bad Word’ in the Lebanese dictionary; if Saeed Akel ever got himself to writing one. We are known as a passionate opinionated people with a fiery Mediterranean temper. A British journalist once remarked how shocked he was at the way the Lebanese displayed openly their political allegiance whether through their discourse or the use of party symbols. By not belonging to a political, religious or ideological ‘Front’ you had de facto eliminated yourself from any purposeful conversation around a table of equally self deluded ‘politicized’ Lebanese.

In fact I am not neutral. Far from it. I have held solid socio-political convictions for many years. My main deficit recently has been not to find enough common ground with any of the parties on the political scene. In a nutshell I am offered a simple choice between a Sunni-Druze-Christian alliance in tune with the US and a Shiite-Christian axis supported by the objectionable Iranian and Syrian regimes. The prospect of a tamed Middle East ruled by corrupt pro-western monarchies and at the mercy of Israeli economic and military domination does not reassure me. On the other hand the combination of Mullahs and Baathists excites me even less. Despite their best effort to throw Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in the mix to spice things up, I still need a lot of convincing.

Faced with this dire choice many of my friends have indeed taken sides claiming that this was a time for priorities in what is a global conflict between democracy…and democracy. If you happen to belong to the Shiite, Sunni or Druze community then it is usually straightforward: you join your respective camps while rationalising your mostly tribal and sectarian decision through the use of meaningless academic rhetoric. If you happen to be Christian and things get complicated you resolve it by developing a mystical attraction to the not yet graduated Dr Geagea or an unhealthy obsession with the less than successful General Aoun.

The rest of us, if lucky, can aspire to be neutral in the sense of peace or environmental activists who choose to ignore the absurd but real circus happening on our screens and in our streets. Others, like, me, will vent their anger on the World Wide Web hoping for an alternative.

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