Author: jameswagner

This is a months-old interview conducted by Ha’aretz on the last of Steve’s days in Palestine this spring. I’m posting it here and at this time for the background it provides for the impulses which brought Steve and others back this summer. He returns to New York tomorrow, thursday, and I expect to soon post something in the way of a follow-up.

[Steve tells the reporter,] “When I went to Hebrew University in the early 1980s, I was a Zionist with Peace Now views and not very involved. The turning point for me was the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. It forced me to assimilate information I’ve accumulated over time and to come to conclusions … Since then I’ve been working for a free Palestine.”
Quester joined Jews Against the Occupation, a New York-based organization: “I feel (the Jews in New York) are really relieved to know about us. There are Jews whose stomachs turn when they hear what’s going on here, but they’re afraid to say so … I feel ordinary people have a responsibility to make the world better so, I reacted to this situation by coming here.”
[His colleague, Dr. Robert Lipton, describes himself.] “I am a Jewish American and feel intimately involved because of my identity. (The occupation) seems like a very obvious wrong that needs to be righted and it’s in my own backyard, culturally and religiously. For the first time, at Jewish Voice [for Peace], I have felt like an insider – it’s a place where I could feel comfortable with other Jews about articulating my opposition to the occupation. People often say (we are) ‘self-hating Jews,’ but we’re actually helping Jews live here better because the occupation has distorted Israeli and Jewish American societies. It’s not that I’m discounting violence toward Israel, but it doesn’t happen by itself.”

[Today’s report, probably his last from Palestine on this visit, is directly from Steve himself. I can only comment that I’m unable to clearly see the keyboard or the screen as I try to post this. Once again, the links are my doing.]

A million thanks to Donald, my Most Excellent Support Person, for
calling me every day and sending out reports. I’ll read through
them when I get home, and elaborate on whatever stuff I forgot to
tell him on the phone.
On Sunday night, a Palestinian-American friend and I stayed once
again at the home of a family in New Askar Refugee Camp in Nablus.
Two sons of this family have been killed by the Israeli army, and it
is reasonable to assume that the house is slated for demolition.
(The Israeli Supreme Court recently ruled that the army is not
required to give any advance notice before coming to demolish a
home.) I had many fascinating conversations with the family during
the 4 nights I stayed at that particular house, and was of course
treated to the usual warm Palestinian hospitality. It’s amazing how
generous people are here, even when they have nothing.
I hope they’ll be OK. They’ve suffered so much already. I’ll try
to stay in touch with them, but access to the Internet is very
limited at Askar, and Israel is not currently allowing mail delivery
in the West Bank.
At about midnight, the army sent up about 12 very bright and long-
lasting flares over New Askar, Old Askar, nearby Balata Refugee
Camp, and the nearby village of Azmut. One of the flares fell to
the ground in Azmut, and started a fire. We saw military vehicles
moving from the Jewish settlement of Elon More, on the hill above
us, toward Azmut. There were also F-16s flying overhead. We were
really scared; I though that the flares were a prelude to aerial
bombardment or an attack on foot. We called the U.S. Consulate to
tell them what was happening and to inform them of the U.S. citizens
on the ground; we were thinking of our own safety, and of using our
presence to increase the safety of the Palestinians in the camp.
The consulate was as hostile as always; European activists inform me
that their consulates are much more helpful.
In the end, nothing happened in Askar Camp on Sunday night. Azmut
probably got hit hard. The villages around Nablus are really
suffering; while Nablus has been under curfew for more than 60 days,
there are villages that have been under curfew for one or two
years. The residents have no access to medical care, markets for
their produce, etc.
On Monday morning, I took some video footage of graves of non-
combatants from the camp killed by the army. They’re buried in a
playground, because curfew did not allow people access to the
cemetery. I also heard the story of the 7-year-old boy who was
killed by Israeli fire while walking from his home in New Askar to
the school in Old Askar. I’ve witnessed many instances of
gratuitous Israeli firing, not aimed at anything in particular,
meant for intimidation, and it is not at all suprising that, from
time to time, someone gets in the way and is shot and killed. The
solution to this problem, though, is not better military procedures
for the Israel Occupation Force. The solution is an end to the
occupation.
We set out from Askar Camp to walk to the Union of Palestinian
Medical Relief Committees. We were going to get a taxi from there
to the Howarra Checkpoint. But when we go to the main road
alongside Askar, we found a tank in the road. We stayed in sight of
the tank for quite some time until it left; there were a lot of boys
in the street, some of them throwing stones at the tank, and we
didn’t want them to get shot at.
We then walked down to an armored personnel carrier, where, we were
told, two boys had been taken by the army. We got nowhere with the
soldiers (but they didn’t arrest us, as I feared they might), but we
found the parents of the boys, who were of course beside
themselves. We put them in touch with an Israeli human rights
organization that tracks detainees, and got a cab to the UPMRC.
The cab had to leave us a short walk away from the UPMRC because of
tanks in the road. The informal curfew network in Palestinian
cities is amazing; drivers always stop and talk to each other,
people keep in touch via cell phone, and boys in the street run up
to drivers and pedestrians with information. Everyone is trying to
figure out where the soldiers are and what’s a safe route from A to
B. Movement under curfew is not prevented, but is reduced to about
10% of what would be normal. People out tring to make a living, or
obtain food or medical care, or visit a loved one, are criminalized,
and risk injury or death.
Curfew seemed especially tight on Monday in Nablus, with tanks and
APCs in a number of unwonted locations. I have a really bad feeling
about what the Israeli army may be planning for Nablus, especially
as internationals beging to leave the city to return home for work
or school.
We, with our international privilege, wer able to walk right by one
of the tanks. As we turned the corner and approached the UPMRC,
there was an explosion so loud I felt it. It may have been one of
the sound bombs the soldiers use to disperse crowds, but I could
detect no prvocation for it.
We were able to make it from the UPMRC to the Howwara Checkpoint OK; our driver waited until it was reported that the tank on that road had moved. We were allowed to cross without questioning, but a member of our group, a 72 year old Republican Arab-American from Cape Cod, then intervened on behalf of a family of ten, including a one-week old baby, who were waiting in the sun while the soldiers refused them passage. They were seeking medical care, and had documentation to prove it. The activist from Cape Cod nagged the soldiers until two of the family were let through, and he put the family in contact with the same Israeli human rights organization, who later that day got them all across.
We took a taxi from Howwara to Jerusalem, picking up three activists
at the Qalqilya Checkpoint along the way. Our taxi had Israeli
license plates, so we were able to travel on the settler road. The
roadside is dotted with graffiti in Hebrew calling for death to the
Arabs, vengeance, and expusion. “Kahane was right” is a common
one. Road signs indicating Jewish and Palestinian communities are
in Hebrew, English, and Arabic, but on many signs the Arabic has
been blacked out with spray paint.
The Qalqilya activists told me how they hade busted through that
checkpoint a couple of days before. They had waited for two hours
(the army has figured out that it is in their interest to keep
international witnesses out of occupied cities), and then just
walked through. An Israeli film crew, there to film the wall that
the army is building between Israel and the West Bank, refused to
document the activists’ defiance, and urged the soldiers to arrest
the activists. The film crew made a special point of indicating the
one Palestinian among them, and said, “Arrest him! Arrest him!”
Fortunately, by the time the soldiers got over their astonishment,
the activists were speeding away in a taxi. This was, of course,
the kind of action that only internationals can undertake;
Palestinians alone would run a high risk of being shot.
I’ve always thought of Arab East Jerusalem, victim of Israeli
underdevelopment, as kind of pathetic, but after Nablus it seemed
like the land of plenty. It was amazing to see fully stocked food
stores, open restaurants, and crowded sidewalks. I don’t know how
people in Nablus (Ramallah, Jenin, Tulkarm, Gaza…) can endure the
deprivation, month after month.
On Tuesday morning, the Cape Cod activist and I went to the offices of HaMoked, the Israeli group that had helped us help people in Nablus, to thank them. We had a really good conversation with their director about the work they’re doing, and the work we’re doing. Today (Wednesday), I’ll try to meet with someone from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, to talk about their struggle of many years(a losing battle…Israel is now talking about bulldozing houses if Israeli Palestinians as well. To my knowledge, the homes of Jews accused of crimes are never detroyed.), and about the successs we’ve met with so far by sleeping in threatened homes.
Yesterday afternoon, I went to Bethlehem, where I was during the Israeli invasion in April. There was only one APC in town–the Israelis have otherwise pulled out, although they’re expected to re-invade soon–and it was wonderful to see the city alive and vibrant. Sadly, I learned that 5 houses had been demolished there in one week; there was an insufficient international presence there to provide the houses with protection. A couple of weeks ago I had been there and had visited a demolished house; the family was living in a tent on top if the ruins. It was like 1948 all over again. I had some money that had been donated by workers at Oxygen, and gave it to a community leader to pass on to the family. They phoned to thank me a few days later.
I had a fantastic visit with my family is Azzeh Refugee Camp in
Bethlehem, where I had been in April. It was hard to say goodbye to
them, just as it had been hard the day before to say goodbye the day
before to our wonderful friends in Askar. I hope to come back for
all of next summer, but that’s a long way away.
I fly home tomorrow, and will once again be checking my email at
negroni4u@yahoo.com. I am looking forward to opportunities to speak
about Palestine, and to show the video and still documentation and
Palestinian testimony that my group collected. It’s become harder
to do that, though; Jews Against the Occupation had three report-
backs scheduled for August, but all three host venues cancelled
after receiving threats from the Jewish Defence Organization.
As for the rest of my JAtO affinity group: Lisa is home in New York,
safe and sound, and by now Ryan and Erica should be, too. Jeremy
and Zaid are still in Askar; Jeremy comes to Jerusalem tomorrow and
flies home Friday, and Zaid is here until the middle of November.
If you’re thinking of joining ISM for the olive harvest (Oct. 15-
Nov. 15), go for it! The farmers really need your protection from
soldiers and settlers. You can register at www.palsolidarity.org.
Free Palestine!
Love,
Steve

The “deeply decent” handsome, eponymous star of the soap opera-like strip, Rex Morgan M.D. has come out in favor of what his creator calls “a single-payer, state-supported health care system.”

Interestingly, the man behind Rex Morgan’s position isn’t some “communist or liberal socialist” — although he has received plenty of mail calling him that, and worse. He’s Woody Wilson, a 55-year-old registered Republican from Tempe, Ariz., who voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 elections.
“I believe the country that is supposedly the richest and most powerful in the world shouldn’t be forcing its citizens to choose between paying their mortgage or saving their lives. Yet that is what is happening with millions of Americans right now,” Mr. Wilson said in an interview this week.
“What’s needed is health care for everyone instead of dividends for stockholders in pharmaceutical companies.”

Unfortunately “everyone” doesn’t make the decisions in this country. Decision-making ability is instead the biggest big stockholders’ dividend of all.

Unsurprisingly, those Americans critical of Mr. Wilson’s position like to ask him, “Do we want to have a Canadian health-care system? Do we want rationing? Do we want to wait in line for hip-replacement surgery?”
Mr. Wilson chuckled. “My wife and I were talking about this and she said, ‘Well, in Canada, [health care] is about waiting; in America, it’s about money.’ I want the waiting.”

Universal health care, in America it’s still just an idea in a not-so-comic strip.

Why do we have to be eternally blind to the experience, whether successful or disastrous, of other nations or societies? Because we’re so damned provincial–or foolishly convinced we’re always right.
The germans, who love the forest perhaps more than any people, have long worked with a system which evolved over at least a millenium. There may be problems with the monoculture which often accompanies strict forest management, but the aesthetic and the discipline is striking. If you walk into a German forest, more often than not you will see trees, but no underbrush, no fallen trunks, no rotten stumps. It’s been cleared down below. It all looks tailored. It is.

I [Gilgamesh] would conquer in the Cedar Forest…. I will set my hand to it and will chop down the Cedar.
–Epic of Gilgamesh

The visual sign of the well-managed forest, in Germany and in the many settings where German scientific forestry took hold, came to be the regularity and neatness of its appearance. Forests might be inspected in much the same way as a commanding officer might review his troops on parade, and woe to the forest guard whose “beat” was not sufficiently trim or “dressed.” This aboveground order required that underbrush be removed and that fallen trees and branches be gathered and hauled off.

Our own studies today support the german practice as a fire deterrent.

Scientists for and against thinning the forest at large say it has to be carried out according to a prescription or it may cause serious ecological problems. Just small fuels on the ground and trees up to three or four inches in diameter should be removed instead of larger trees, which are more fire-resistant.

Researchers report further that “Timber harvest, through its effects on forest structure, local microclimate and fuels accumulation, has increased fire severity more than any other recent activity,” and that includes fire suppression.
The American forest looks like a mess (ok, an attractive, if impenetrable, mess), and its undergrowth, potentially useful for fuel, fill or other purposes, rots away (unless it ignites first). It would be nice if we could find a way to reduce the scale of destructive forest fires without giving away the store.
Bush wants to sell to big corporations the right to log mature trees which are not a fire danger to populated areas, in return for clearing out the stuff that should be removed. The clearing responsibility is not likely to be policed and logging and clearing operations should be treated as separate issues. The Shrub is using the recent spate of destructive fires as an excuse to further enrich his class.

In fact, the government doesn’t make money when it sells timber rights to loggers. According to the General Accounting Office, the Forest Service consistently spends more money arranging timber sales than it actually gets from the sales. How much money? Funny you should ask: last year the Bush administration stopped releasing that information. In any case, the measured costs of timber sales capture only a fraction of the true budgetary costs of logging in the national forests, which is supported by hundreds of millions of dollars in federal subsidies, especially for road-building. This means that, environmental issues aside, inducing logging companies to clear underbrush by letting them log elsewhere would probably end up costing taxpayers more, not less, than dealing with the problem directly.
So as in the case of the administration’s energy policy, beneath the free-market rhetoric is a plan for increased subsidies to favored corporations. Surprise.
A final thought: Wouldn’t it be nice if just once, on some issue, the Bush administration came up with a plan that didn’t involve weakened environmental protection, financial breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations and reduced public oversight?

A magnificent, sober discussion of the morality of war, particularly of what war means in a democracy, and most particularly of the war we are about to launch. No hysterics, no cant.

One common philosophical argument for democracy is that democratic regimes are particularly unlikely to start wars. When the power to declare war is closely tethered to the preferences of those who would bear the costs of fighting, it stands to reason that this power will be used sparingly. Thus, many political philosophers have followed Kant in supposing that the universal embrace of democracy offers the best hope of world peace.
Our nation now finds itself on the verge of initiating war against another sovereign nation. We have not been attacked by Iraq, and we have thus far failed to produce convincing evidence that Iraq has aided, or plans to aid, those who have attacked us. If we go to war, we will be the initiators of aggression.
It would be a mistake, however, to take this as fresh cause for doubt about the link between democracy and peace. We ought instead to view this imminent possibility as an occasion for raising hard questions about whether, in the critical matter of waging war, we still function as a genuine democracy.

What a country! Can we still say stuff like this? Yes, but it doesn’t matter, since we’re still not able to influence what passes for our own government, even if we talk nice.
Mark Morford‘s “SF GATE MORNING FIX” email raised a few eyebrows monday when he introduced the White House lawyers war authority story with this extended paragraph:

**Geedubya Makes Big War Stuff Go Boom**
White House lawyers have told President Bush he would not need
congressional approval to attack Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Two senior
administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity but who’s names are Bob and Louis and who live at 3566 Kensington Lane and 220 Jackson #3 in D.C. and who’s home phone numbers are 555-8761 and 555-9002 and who like a nice Chard with dinner and interestingly enough each have a secret stash of hardcore bizarre German fetish porn and who really really loathe traffic and wish their wives were just slightly more into the whole oral thing and who love animals and who, deep down, really crave more profound insight and honesty and deep tongue kissing and to have more love and magic in their lives, respectively, said White House counsel Al Gonzales advised Bush earlier this month that the Constitution gives the president authority to wage war without explicit authority from Congress, especially if all his oil-sucking jackass crony advisers and warmongering lint-sodomizing CEO patrons tell him to and he bounces on Dick’s knee and licks his pockmarked bald demon skull and giggles giggles snorts.