Methodists back call for ending 'siege'

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"The leader of U.S. Methodists endorsed a letter urging Israel to end the "siege" of the Gaza Strip.

In his endorsement of the statement by Holy Land clerics, Bishop Felton May of the United Methodist Church also recognized Israeli security needs.

"The issues are complex, involving control of borders, the movement of food and fuel into Gaza, the continuing launch of rockets into Israel from the militant Hamas faction in Gaza and retaliatory actions by Israel," said a Jan. 25 statement issued by May. "Israeli policy inflexibility is intensified by the actions of Hamas and its rockets."

Israel has sealed Gaza in a bid to end intensified rocket attacks on civilians in Israel's south.

"One and a half million people imprisoned and without proper food or medicine, 800,000 without electricity supply; this is illegal collective punishment, an immoral act in violation of the basic human and natural laws as well as International Law," said the Jan. 22 statement signed by Christian leaders in Israel and Palestinian areas. "It cannot be tolerated anymore. The siege over Gaza should end now."

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/106631.html

Everything else has failed.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/t/2439/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=22531

January 28, 2008

Last week, thousands of people responded to calls to end Israel’s siege of Gaza by contacting their Members of Congress and the White House. Over the weekend, dozens of protests, vigils, and interfaith services took place all over the United States demanding an end to Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza.

Your solidarity with the people of Gaza is making a difference. Some Members of Congress have joined the chorus of voices demanding the United States pressure Israel to end the siege on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis that it is causing.

In a sharply-worded letter initiated by Rep. Dennis Kucinich and sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on January 23, eleven Members of Congress called on the United States to exert its “influence to urge Israel to end its blockade of Gaza.”

The letter details the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s siege of Gaza and states that “collective punishment is never a tolerable response from Israel, nor should the United States excuse it.” These Members of Congress term Israel’s blockade of Gaza “illegal” and chastise the Administration for blocking a UN Security Council Resolution condemning the siege. They state that “The Administration has the responsibility and the authority to ensure that Israel comply with international law and protect the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.”

To read the full text of the letter, click here.

It is exceedingly rare for Members of Congress to come out so unequivocally and forcefully in support of Palestinian human rights and for holding Israel accountable to the standards of international law. That is why it is extremely important for you to take a minute right now to send a letter of thanks to these Members of Congress below.

These Members of Congress need to know that thousands of people in the United States appreciate their bold statement, so please take a minute to thank them below.

Alphabetical List of Signatories

* Neil Abercrombie (HI)
* John Conyers, Jr. (MI)
* Danny Davis (IL)
* Sam Farr (CA)
* Raul Grijalva (AZ)
* Maurice Hinchey (NY)
* Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX)
* Dennis Kucinich (OH)
* Betty McCollum (MN)
* Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
* James Oberstar (MN)

Don’t forget to send these Members of Congress a letter of thanks because you know that supporters of Israel’s human rights abuses will be bombarding these offices to protest. Take action now below.

or refrigerators or televisions or rugs, or any of the other commodities these poor, beleaguered and under "siege" Palestinians bought in their five day $250M shopping spree.

I've spotted you in a few threads going on about fridges and motorbikes. Are you really that full of hostility towards Palestinians that you begrudge any of them owning things like that? Or is it some really stupid attempt to argue that Palestinians in Gaza haven't really been suffering, coz some of them dared to have savings? Here's a reality check for you and one you would have already been well aware of if you read the international media on what's been happening. Gaza has been under a state of seige with the blockade. Goods have not been entering the Gaza Strip, which has led to massive shortages of basic necessities that people need to survive. While you may think it's all a big fucking joke, the point isn't that people haven't got money to spend - it's been that there's nothing there to spend it on....

Here's some things from the media coverage of the Gaza/Egypt border that you really need to read. The sad thing is I'm pretty sure you've already read this sort of stuff and choose to ignore it...

'The goods carried back by the opportunistic day trippers were testament to the effectiveness — up until now — of Israel's economic war against Hamas and the 1.5 million people of Gaza.

Already short on money, many brought back only small quantities of the things they most desperately needed: cooking oil, baby milk powder, soap, washing powder, medicine, petrol, cooking gas and foodstuffs.

There was also a run on cheap Egyptian motorbikes as a fuel-efficient alternative to thirsty cars and trucks.

Others herded livestock across the border or loaded donkey carts with cement and other building materials, which have been blocked by Israel since last year from entry into the Hamas-run territory.

Mariam Asfour, 28, returned from the Egyptian side of Rafah clutching a small bag of medicine to treat her married sister's bone disorder.

"We need many things since the border's have been closed," Ms Asfour said.

"We can't get anything we need in Gaza any more. I've also bought milk and cheese for my sister's children."

Standing beside her, a friend shyly tried to hide a plastic bag bulging with sanitary towels.'

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/and-the-wall-came-tumbling-down/2008/01/23/1201024997560.html

To be honest, yr posts remind me of those old farts who ring talkback radio shows here and whine about single mothers and how they supposedly spend all their money on booze and pokies. Being a single mum myself (and our system here is one where even though I have a well-paying job I still get govt benefits coz I'm a single mum), I give a hearty Fuck You to all the hateful wankers who choose to stereotype people and think they have some divine right to criticise them based on what they believe they're spending their money on...

I'd say more but being a single mother, I'm rushing off now to the club to spend all my money on booze and the poker machines just so I can do my little bit to keep the stereotypes alive! ;)

I agree that the Gazans do not seem to be as poor as some other occupied groups (e.g. apparently the Bedouin people of Egyptian-controlled Sinai); but ...do you remember the fall of the Berlin wall, and the beginnings of freedom for East Europaean countries? I remember that many of the East Germans used their new freedom initially to go into West Berlin and go shopping. I don't remember people of that time saying that the Berlin Wall and the Soviet domination of East Germany couldn't have been so bad, as the East Germans had the money to go shopping once the Wall was down. It would have certainly been ridiculous to say that the East Germans were victims of 'genocide'; but nevertheless I think that we all agreed that their situation was unsatisfactory and that it was a good thing when they were given greater freedom. And overall, the Gazans are currently in a much worse position than the East Germans were then; though some of this is due to their own leadership.

\I doubt you could last a week inside one of those camps -- especially as a person with health concerns -- and to hear you ranking people's suffering is pretty awful to read.

that reminds me a bit of the American diplomat in 1948 who said that the Jews and Arabs should 'settle their differences like good Christians'. (I realize that some Palestinian Arabs really are Christians, but not the majority.)

Therefore I doubt that the Protestant denominations will have much influence on either group's actions.

For what it's worth, I support most of what these religous leaders are saying; though I would also explicitly denounce the rocket attacks - and make some mention of Egypt.

and do the right thing in this situation.

And this counters the lunatic Christian zionists.

I'm ecstatic that American mainline Christians are clear about the immorality of this situation.