Internationals to deliver aid to Lebanon Saturday. Risk Israeli attack.

HELP!

First the bad news....


The good news is that there is civilian organized resistance to the slaughter.

http://www.lebanonsolidarity.org/
The first organized actions comes this Saturday (late Friday or very early Saturday morning U.S. time).
BEIRUT--On August 12, at 7 am, Lebanese from throughout the country and international supporters who have come to Lebanon to express solidarity will gather in Martyr's Square in Beirut to form a civilian convoy to the south of Lebanon. Hundreds of Lebanese and international civilians will express their solidarity with the inhabitants of the heavily destroyed south who have been bravely withstanding the assault of the Israeli military. This campaign is endorsed by more than 200 Lebanese and international organizations. This growing coalition of national and international non-governmental organizations hereby launches a campaign of civil resistance for the purpose of challenging the cruel and ruthless use of massive military force by Israel, the regional superpower, upon the people of Lebanon.

August 12 marks the start of this Campaign of Resistance, declaring Lebanon an Open Country for Civil Resistance. August 12 also marks the international day of protest against the Israeli aggression.

"In the face of Israel's systematic killing of our people, the indiscriminate bombing of our towns, the scorching of our villages, and the attempted destruction of our civil infrastructure, we say No! In the face of the forced expulsion of a quarter of our population from their homes throughout Lebanon, and the complicity of governments and international bodies, we re-affirm the acts of civil resistance that began from the first day of the Israeli assault, and we stress and add the urgent need to act!," said Rasha Salti, one of the organizers of this national event.

After August 12, the campaign will continue with a series of civil actions, leading to an August 19 civilian march to reclaim the South. "Working together, in solidarity, we will overcome the complacency, inaction, and complicity of the international community and we will deny Israel its goal of removing Lebanese from their land and destroying the fabric of our country," explained Samah Idriss, writer and co-organizer of this campaign.

"An international civilian presence in Lebanon is not only an act of solidarity with the Lebanese people in the face of unparalleled Israeli aggression, it is an act of moral courage to defy the will of those who would seek to alienate the West from the rest and create a new Middle East out of the rubble and blood of the region," said Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement and campaign co-organizer. "After having witnessed the wholesale destruction of villages by Israel's air force and navy and having visited the victims (so-called displaced) of Israel's policy of cleansing Lebanese civilians from their homes," continued Arraf, "it is imperative to go south and reach those who have stayed behind to resist by steadfastly remaining on their land."


You can help.
First, recommend this post so it gets the widest readership. Second, alert your congressperson and express your support, and your concern, as US citizens will be participating in this effort, and we should demand that Israel respect the lives of US citizens helping Lebanese civilians. You could also mention that you support an immediate ceasefire. See more here: http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/members-sign-res450.php

Cut and paste this info into an email and pass this around to everyone. Everyone.

WHERE the fuck is the planetary outcry
at this insanity???
Since when are relief convoys the
target of attack???
Have we officially crossed over into
some alternative reality?
FUCK the ISRAELI WAR CRIMINALS and their NEOCON backers.
BHN

Rachel was an American peace activist trying to resist Israeli destruction of Palestinian homes. She was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer for her efforts.

Didn't hear much about it on MSM, did you.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,916299,00.html

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22rachel+corrie%22&btnG=Google+Search

get more news if she sprained her ankle.

Yet here was an American human rights activist killed while saving the house of her friends (later destroyed, months after Corrie's murder), and it was news for a few hours. About 60 congresspeople did call for an investigation (beyond the one conducted by the Israeli military, that even the State Department has said is inadequate) Nothing happens. Again, unconditional support. Beyond anything rational.

thanks

:)

k&r

what a great idea.

Sadly Bushco will ban travel to Lebanon.

doing this have been helping Palestinian nonviolent resistance, and Israel has been able to keep some of these folks out of Palestine. But for now at least, Lebanon is open for real nonviolent resistance to a war of aggression. I hope many people are able to make it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4778591.stm


Also
<snip>
Arab-Canadians are urging their government to condemn civilian casualties in the Middle East and take a more proactive role in calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.Stephen Harper, Canada’s Conservative prime minister, has been criticised both in parliament and among some media commentators for defending Israeli action in Lebanon, labelling it a "measured response".
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D2F37BF4-E4DB-4678-BF23-BDBDC1D2D874.htm

:thumbsup:

and also the largest. Those ate some of the bravest people on the planet!

Gene Sharp. He wrote the books on civilian resistance to
military power. One of the best unMilitary minds of the 20th century.
http://www.peace.ca/genesharp.htm

Not saying it will be easy though, but that does not deter those who fight wars.

Peace and resistance to you too!

it's being reported on CNN now and the chances the convoy will make it without being attacked by Israel sound dire, indeed.

against the illegal annexation wall in Bil'lin. It was a rubber bullet, he is expected to be okay. I think, but it was a head wound, and it is serious.

Think of it though. people go to war all the time knowing they may not come back alive, and often times the violence of war really accomplishes nothing. So folks here (and i know several of these folks personally, btw) also go into this knowing the possible cost. Certainly they are doing all they can to minimize it, including wide-press and spreading the word, certainly telling the IDF of their plans.

This action is absolutely necessary. So the question is not for these folks "what will be the cost of me doing this" but rather what will be the cost of *not* doing this.

they are brave folks, indeed!

:kick:

killed by our bombs and bullets in Lebanon.

PB

From Huwaida Arraf:

A few hours ago we learned that the Israeli military hit a convoy leaving Marjayoun (in the south) under UN ‘protection’, killing three. It had received Israeli permission to move. The people here do not have any reason to believe that Israel will not hit a purely civilian convoy carrying relief. Indeed, UN workers have been killed by Israeli strikes, ambulances have been hit, and civilian homes have been targeted. But this initiative tomorrow represents the resolve of Lebanese civilians to reject Israel’s dictates and stand up for their country and their people. We are all going knowing full well that Israel might hit us. And yet, one thing that we agreed upon is even if we are hit and suffer casualties, this campaign continues. If the convoy can continue on the same day, it will, if it cannot, we will reorganize and advance again another day.

We reject, on principle, any kind of coordination with the Israeli military, but we’ve done as much as we can to make it known to Israel that this is a civilian convoy. On CNN this morning I reiterated our plans and asked, in the face of this civilian act of resistance, “what will Israel do?”

Tonight a journalist asked me, “aren’t you scared?” I answered honestly, “no.” I really don’t think about it. While this is a dangerous initiative, I believe that doing nothing is more dangerous. The United States, instead of backing an immediate ceasefire that could have saved hundreds of innocent lives, expedited a weapons transfer to Israel. For the past 4 weeks, the United Nations has been paralyzed; every day innocent civilians are being killed. When governments and international bodies fail to act, average civilians must. And so I am honored to be part of this convoy. I am heartened by the love and dedication of the dozens of civilians from all over the world who traveled to Lebanon answering our call to join the civilian resistance; I am strengthened by the tens of thousands that will be demonstrating all over the world tomorrow; and I am proud to have worked with amazing people that are the spirit of Lebanon that will not be defeated.

safely.

something. The good news is that i am near certain that if things went badly i would have heard. So no news is good news? Probably. Maybe it was postponed would be the worst i would expect to hear. But i can't even find mention of it now in the Daily Star (lebanon paper)

in Beirut today after 10 days at sea waiting for Israeli permission. Can't find a link on that yet.

The latest from The Hindu -more deaths
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200608130301.htm

PB

for the links

Beirut
August 12, 2006

At 8:00 this morning in Beirut's Martyr's Square, commemorating the
deaths of 33 Lebanese patriots in 1916, the doubts about a Lebanese
civil resistance movement against Israel's invasion of the south were
swept away. Only twenty-four hours earlier, the organizers could
assure only six cars, no gasoline and an uncertain number of
volunteers. Should we cancel? Change the objective? Postpone? After
yet another difficult meeting we decided to plunge ahead, with several
contingency plans.

This morning, however, we found ourselves with 52 vehicles, two to four
volunteers per vehicle and a press corps swarming all around us. Each
car sported a large Lebanese flag on its roof and was loaded with
relief supplies for residents still in the town of Nabatiyya in south
Lebanon after a million of their citizens had been put to flight by
Israel's policy of depopulating the region. After interviews and car
assignments, the convoy headed through the pride of Beirut's historic
downtown business district - the section destroyed in Lebanon's civil
war but recently restored with care to its former glory.

The line of vehicles made its way deliberately through the city,
pausing occasionally to let stragglers catch up. "What is this?" asked
bystanders. "Where are you going?"

"To Nabatiyya." replied the volunteers with pride. "We are a civil
resistance campaign asserting our right to be in our lands."

The faces of the onlookers beamed in return as they shouted "God
speed," touched their hands to their heads, lips or hearts and passed
their blessings our way with a gesture.

South we went, first on the superhighway and then on the older coastal
road where we encountered the first of many bridges blasted with
impunity by Israeli military might during the last month.

Passing through the coastal villages, we had not gotten far before we
came upon a Lebanese military checkpoint. They stopped us and refused
to let us pass, saying that it was not safe. We disputed their
assessment, pointing out that we were the only vehicles being stopped
and that there was plenty of traffic in both directions. With some
difficulty, we located a higher official of the Ministry of Interior in
order to appeal the order, but he refused to change it. We considered
several other alternatives, including removing the markings on the
cars, getting past the checkpoint and reforming, or doing a sitdown
strike in the road. However, our goal was not confrontation with the
Lebanese authorities and Lebanese unity was one of the important
principles of our action.

In the end, therefore, we gathered at the Ramlet al-Baida ("White
Sands") beach and decided to try to make another opportunity for
ourselves as soon as possible on a different day. We then moved the
meeting to our staging center for a self-evaluation session. At that
meeting we agreed that although it was a big disappointment not to
achieve our intended objective, our success in proving the interest and
viability of a Lebanese civil resistance movement should not be lost
because of external circumstances that no one had foreseen. The group
will therefore be holding strategy sessions in the coming days to plan
the next move.

Don't count on this group to disappear. Lebanese civil resistance took
an important step today.