'Just World News' with Helena Cobban

H,

Wonderful news about your panel. I wonder if you are aware that George Mitchell is being considered for ME Envoy? He would be excellent.

Fingers crossed,
KDJ

H,

Thanks for the update about your panel. I wonder if you are aware that George Mitchell is seriously being considered for ME Envoy. HE would be excellent.

Fingers crossed,
KDJ

On a visit yesterday to Gaza, the US lackey Ban ki-Moon finally condemned Israel's "excessive use of force."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123246230782997907.html?mod=article-outset-box

Initially, on a visit to Israel during the offensive, he condemned Palestine actions but was only "concerned" about the mass killing of civilians, including hundreds of children, by Israel.

"I am well aware that rockets have been fired at Israeli civilians for years from Gaza. I have always condemned these rockets as acts of terrorism.

"But I must also be concerned at the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Many people have died and are still dying. Civilian suffering has reached an unbearable point.

"I count on the wise leadership of the Israeli Government. I want to thank Foreign Minister Livni again for welcoming me to Israel and I look forward to the remainder of my visit. Thank you very much."
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=400

Thank YOU very much, Ban, for YOUR wise leadership. (Just kidding.)

On a visit yesterday to Gaza, the US lackey Ban ki-Moon finally condemned Israel's "excessive use of force."

Initially, on a visit to Israel during the offensive, he condemned Palestine actions but wass only "concerned" about the mass killing of civilians, including hundreds of children, by Israel.

"I am well aware that rockets have been fired at Israeli civilians for years from Gaza. I have always condemned these rockets as acts of terrorism.

"But I must also be concerned at the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Many people have died and are still dying. Civilian suffering has reached an unbearable point.

"I count on the wise leadership of the Israeli Government. I want to thank Foreign Minister Livni again for welcoming me to Israel and I look forward to the remainder of my visit. Thank you very much." This was during the massacre.

Thank YOU very much, Ban, and thanks for YOUR wise leadership (just kidding).

In roaming through the JWN files I pulled out some snippets from an HC visit to Gaza in 2004:

A couple of years ago when I was here, someone said that the worst thing about the totally capricious and unpredictable way in which the Israelis' draconian movement controls are applied to the entire indigenous population here is that it makes it impossible for anyone to undertake the very basic human function of planning their use of time in a sensible, predictable, or rational way. . .

Instead of doing that, as we approached the Kalandia checkpoint we swung off to the right and drove along to a "No Palestinian Vehicles Allowed" special bypass road that streaks northward along the rocky spine of the West Bank, allowing [Israeli] settlers to reach their lovely homes in just minutes. . .

It turned out he was Ambassador Ahmed Soboh, the Deputy Minister of Information in the Palestinian Authority. We took him to his office where he offered us coffee and we swapped a few tales of the woe and frustration caused by these movement controls. He pulled out a veritable fistful of different passes that he had to carry with him all the time. (Made the "passbooks" that the non-White South Africans were forced to carry everywhere back in the bad old days of apartheid look completely simple and straightforward, by comparison.) . . .

Today, the Israeli forces launched an operation into the Shuja'iyeh neighborhood of Old Gaza City that resulted in the deaths of 12 Palestinians, including reportedly some children. It is quite possible that this operation has been planned for a while, and that's why they haven't been letting me--and perhaps a number of other foreigners--in.

Noura Erakat! Wow - that's a lovely name from the past. I remember her as a very bright, VERY energetic, deeply committed young student, pretty as can be, too. She should be an excellent addition to the panel.

Is it Rudner, or Ruebner (from the U.S. Campaign)?

Is it Rudner, or Ruebner (from the U.S. Campaign)?

Shirin,
It looks like a stellar lineup, including our own star. For example, google Tamim Barghouti and get blown away.

Lama Abu-Odeh,

When I look for Lama Abu-Odeh, I found she is in the far end of this discussion and the subject of this panel specially her interests and her books telling she out of Gaza and the war
These are examples:

Professor Abu-Odeh has written articles on Feminism and Islam and is the author of a forthcoming publication, Modernizing Muslim Family Law: The Case of Egypt.

Her books/ Lucturs as follow:

- Egyptian Feminism: Trapped in the Identity Debate, in Arab Legal System in Transition

- Crimes of Honor: Overview, Entry, in 2 Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures

- Law: Modern Family Law, 1800 - Present: Arab States

- Egyptian Feminism: Trapped in the Identity Debate, in Islamic Law and the Challenges of Modernity

- Modernizing Muslim Family Law: The Case of Egypt

Helena, I think the organiser should invited some of who are on the ground who have real life and what's he thinks and what Palestinian thinks will be much better than listening to Arab/American who lived most his life in US and he is far from the realities on the ground.

I thought it much better that with your fast trip to the region its is much helpful by inviting some people who can add more value to the discussion than Lama Abu-Odeh.

The second thing here is the Israeli a well-crafted propaganda plan, plotted out long in advance. We know that Israelis prevented independent journalist and international journalist from Gaza 18 months in advance of their war,. Then turns out Israel's three-phased push to shape the images coming out of the Gaza war so the only people can tell you what Gaza is people from that land.

Anyway wish you all the best in you discussion but I wish to remind you can some one of your panel rise the issue of International or UN Sanction on Israel and what consequences that Israeli should facing due to her war and atrocities under international law should face and hold account.

Lama has also done so excellent writing on the issue of one state or two states. I'll be happy to catch up with her again. As for news "from the ground", Tom Neu, who's the head of Friends of UNRWA, will have a lot of that. Just four days after the ceasefire, we can't expect actual survivors of the Israeli attack to get here, but this looks like a good group to be with.

Helena,

I did not asked for specifically someone from Gaza Helena, you got Palestinians in west bank and in Jordan in Egypt and Syria those can speaks for their nations in real term that those lived for so long in US.

Anyway Helena you did it pointed to the agenda of the discussion which more important to see what the directions of your panel discussion is about and what the guidelines there.

We appreciate to point out those point will be much clearer all these panels and discussion all about and what usefulness can come out to help Gaza and their case with brutal and madness fist.

I wish to thank you for the courage you bluntly exhibited at the discussion panel held at Georgetown University; especially while the traditional media was still persistent to pursue it's invalid propaganda, until it realized that they were loosing their accountability even among the most stupid and ignorant. As we all know they only started cutting out on their bullshit - denial of the humanitarian perspective as well as their betrayal of those norms associated with journalism. That's when their rotten propaganda started stinking as the corpses of the innocent children. I can imagine the hardship you are inflicted with as a result of proclaiming "the word of truth" and challenging the "politically correct" but totally "inhumane" journalistic practices. This has been obvious to all of us when the young Jewish female student accused you of claiming that "all the Jewish people are stupid". She, being at her prime, did not feel hesitant to put words into your mouth in order to embarrass you; while the truth you clearly stated that "the people in Israel must be stupid to think that the genocide of the Palestinian people is a victory for them". I can imagine the challenges you are faced with on the upper level of that hierarchy!

I wish to thank you for the courage you bluntly exhibited at the discussion panel held at Georgetown University; especially while the traditional media was still persistent to pursue it's invalid propaganda, until it realized that they were loosing their accountability even among the most stupid and ignorant. As we all know they only started cutting out on their bullshit - denial of the humanitarian perspective as well as their betrayal of those norms associated with journalism. That's when their rotten propaganda started stinking as the corpses of the innocent children. I can imagine the hardship you are inflicted with as a result of proclaiming "the word of truth" and challenging the "politically correct" but totally "inhumane" journalistic practices. This has been obvious to all of us when the young Jewish female student accused you of claiming that "all the Jewish people are stupid". She, being at her prime, did not feel hesitant to put words into your mouth in order to embarrass you; while the truth you clearly stated that "the people in Israel must be stupid to think that the genocide of the Palestinian people is a victory for them". I can imagine the challenges you are faced with on the upper level of that hierarchy!