Filed under: Independence, Israel, Israel's 60th Anniversary, May, New York, USA | Tags: Dance, DJ Offer Nissim, Israeli Consulate, Washington Square
New York is to hold a large celebration of Israel’s 60th Birthday aka the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in Washington Square. The square is set to be the largest graveyard dance floor – dancing while Palestinians mourn the murder and displacement of their relatives is disgusting.
Washington Square in New York has seen its fair share of the city’s most notable cultural events: Just recently this famous square was the site for a campaign rally for US presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama, as well as for a memorial service for the victims of the 9/11 terror attack.
In May, however, Washington Square will be flooded with American youths looking to celebrate, dance and party with the State of Israel as it marks its 60th anniversary.
The Israeli Consulate in New York has organized a dance party, to be held in Washington Square on May 8, in honor of Israel’s independence.
Filed under: Germany, Israel, Israel's 60th Birthday, May | Tags: Hildegard Muller, Pillar of Fire
German set to celebrate the anniversary of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine – with national TV event – Pillar of Fire “ – about jewish people returning to ‘their’ homeland. The catch line in the video advert is “a must for every home in Israel” and Germany it would seem.
JP: Israel won’t be alone in celebrating its 60th anniversary. Germany also has an impressive itinerary of cultural events planned, including dance recitals, musical events and films.
German Minister of State Hildegard Muller, who is in charge of organizing the anniversary’s events, announced that the famed documentary series Pillar of Fire will be broadcast live on German TV to mark the occasion. Muller recently met with Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balila, chairman of the Ministerial Committee for the Events Marking the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israel, and with Haimon Goldberg, chairman of the 60th Anniversary Events Directorate.
Pillar of Fire, a 19-episode documentary television series, was first broadcast in 1981 and relays the history of the Jewish people and the events leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel. The film was re-run on various TV stations over the years, and also has an English version, narrated by Sir Ian McKellen.
German television will broadcast Pillar of Fire on May 14.
Filed under: 2008, Israel, Israel's 60th Birthday, JNF, london, May, Palestine, Peaceful Protest, Royal Family, UK, Windsor Castle | Tags: demonstration, Downing Street, Gaza, ILA HAIFA
Some upcoming events in the UK really worth attending -
Windsor JNF dinner Protest
MONDAY 7TH APRIL, 6PM ONWARDS
‘COME SPOIL ISRAEL’S 60TH BIRTHDAY BASH AT WINDSOR CASTLE’
Demonstrate against Israel’s 60th Birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire. Come with banners and placards and join us at the main entrance to the castle, Henry V111th Gate, Castle Hill, Off High Street, Windsor, Berks.
(more…)
Filed under: 1948, 2008, Anniversary, Commemorating the Anniversary, Human Rights, Israel, Israel at 60 Celebration, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel@60, May, Nakba, Palestine, Peaceful Protest, Refugees, Resistance, Right of Return, UN
PA urges Palestinians to return to Israel on 60th anniversary
JP:The Palestinian Authority is planning to mark Israel’s 60th anniversary by calling on all Palestinians living abroad to converge on Israel by land, sea and air.
The plan, drawn by Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah operative and Deputy Minister for Prisoners’ Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, states that the Palestinians have decided to implement United Nations Resolution 194 regarding the refugees.
Article 11 of the resolution, which was passed in December 1948, says that “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”
The initiative is the first of its kind and is clearly aimed at embarrassing Israel during the anniversary celebrations by highlighting the issue of the “right of return” for the refugees.
Filed under: 1948, 2008, Anniversary, Australia, Independence, Israel, Israel at 60 Celebration, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel's Birthday Plans, Israel@60, May, Palestine, Who's Celebrating? | Tags: advert, Improper motion, Not in our name, The Australian
Australians voicing opposition to the PM’s motion put before Parliament to recoginse and congratulate Israel on its 60th birthday placed this advert in a national paper The Australian.
Not in Our Name
We, as informed and concerned Australians, choose to disassociate ourselves from a celebration of the triumph of racism and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians since the al-Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948. As we write, Israel continues to expand illegal Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank including Arab East Jerusalem.
Australia and Australians should not give the Israeli people and its leaders the impression that Australia supports them in their dispossession of the Palestinian people. Israel has poisoned our (the West’s) relations with the whole of the Arab and Muslim world. Rather than celebrating the creation of the State of Israel, we should be recognising the people of Palestine, those who were dispossessed, those who lived and died as refugees, those who continue to live and die and suffer at the hands of the State of Israel, and those who will continue to suffer and die in the future until justice is done.
From 1948.com.au
Background
- Australia to celebrate colonialism and ethnic cleansing
- Colonialism – Bad for Australia, Good for Israel
- Will Australia celebrate Israel’s 60th Birthday?
Big thanks to Ann for sending me this!
Filed under: 1948, 2008, Anniversary, Ethnic Cleansing, History, Independence, Israel, Israel at 60 Celebration, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel's Birthday Plans, Israel@60, May, Middle East, Nakba, Occupation, Palestine, UK, War, War Crimes, Zionism | Tags: MIKE MARQUSEE
| The facts of the Nakba (catastrophe) are now well documented and beyond dispute. Yet Nakba denial remains widespread, and is as vile as denial of any other historic crime. |
In the coming months, the same event will be commemorated by two different groups in starkly contrasting fashions.
May 15 sees the 60th anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel. In Britain, the programme of celebrations includes a gala fund-raising dinner at Windsor Castle in the presence of the Duke of Edinburgh (the Queen’s husband), a variety show at Wembley Stadium and street parades for Israel in London and Manchester.
Remembering a tragedy Meanwhile, Palestinians and their supporters will be recalling the same event in entirely different tones, and without the benefit of State support or vast sums of money. In meetings, conferences and exhibitions they will seek to remind the world of the Nakba — catastrophe in Arabic — that accompanied Israel’s birth in 1948.
In 1947, there were 12,93,000 Arabs and 6,08,000 Jews in Palestine. Though Jews made up 32 per cent of the population, the U.N. partition plan assigned them 55 per cent of the country, including the economically developed citrus growing plains. Israel’s Declaration of Independence was preceded by several months of civil war between Jewish and Palestinian forces, and followed by more months of war between the new State and its Arab neighbours. When the fighting finished in early 1949, the Jewish State had acquired 78 per cent of Palestine. 1,80,000 Palestinians found themselves a minority within the expanded borders of the Jewish State. 7,00,000 to 9,00,000 had been made refugees.
Filed under: 1948, 2008, Art, Ethnic Cleansing, Image, Israel, Israel at 60 Celebration, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel@60, Logo, May, Nakba, Palestine | Tags: adbusters, Banksy, Brand, brandalism, competion, graphic, PR, Public Relations
Hello one and all – I’m opening a competition for people to brandalise Israel’s 60th Anniversary and its logos (Banksy I hope your listening!). Just add a comment with a link to your work and I’ll post it to the site. A team of experts will judge the best one at the end of April. Of course if you just want to brandalise any aspect of the 60th celebration thats also welcome.
To get the ball rolling heres my effort.
The logo is intended to express the theme that children are the future of the country.
A partner in a public-relations firm that made the logo explained:
“We chose a design that combines flow with innovation. It is an Israeli logo that expresses optimism which comes from hope and great faith. Our logo tells the story of the country. The loops of the blue ribbon that make the “60″ are the symbol of the struggles and hardships of the country in its 60 years, but through optimistic eyes—with a movement of upward flight and growth. The Star of David stands as a stable, strong beacon. At the head of the camp and leading everyone, connecting it all, is the child—our future, our hope, our tomorrow, of all of us….”
My logo is intended to highlight the suffering of Palestinian and Israeli children through the aggression of the Israeli Government and its refusal to accept peace (always choosing expansion). I used an iconic image of child suffering in war from the Vietnam era to do this. The swirl of smoke marks out 60 years of Israeli violence and the explosion highlights that Israel is the only power in the region illegally holding nuclear weapons. The state was founded on ethnic cleansing, it continues today (in what Pappe terms ‘creeping genocide’) and seems unlikely to end any time soon.
More of the logos can be found here and here – subvert one or make your own.
Filed under: 1948, 2008, Anniversary, David Hulme, Israel, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel@60, May, Nakba, Palestine, Tzipi Livni
Interesting quote from Israeli FM Livni she states that “upon its establishment [Paelstinian State] the word ‘Nakba’ be deleted from the Arabic lexicon in referring to Israel.” Hard to see why the Nakba should be forgotten? Should Jews forget the Holocaust just because Germany paid them reperations? Why should the Palestinians forget the past just because Israel might end its illegal and unjust occupation of Gaza and the West Bank? He says it like Israel would be bestowing a gift on the Palestinians by letting them establish a state rather than Israel finally accepting international law and consensus by resolving one of their crimes.
PASADENA, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — 02/19/08 — The following press release is being issued by Vision Media Productions.
This year will mark the 60th anniversary of Israel’s statehood. On May 14th, Israelis around the world will celebrate, while Palestinians will mark the following day as The Nakba — a day of mourning. The Nakba, or the catastrophe is remembered by many as a time of ethnic cleansing when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were dispossessed of their homes and villages.
“These two events have long been etched side-by-side in the memories of Palestinians and Israelis,” says David Hulme, author of “Identity, Ideology and the Future of Jerusalem.” “Both have served to add annual fuel to this enduring conflict that seems destined to elude resolution.”
Of course, neither statehood nor Nakba happened in a single day. Long before Israel declared independence on May 14th, 1948, key events pushed the two peoples inexorably toward conflict. But their fates were officially sealed by a United Nations Resolution. On November 29th, 1947 they passed Resolution 181, in support of Israel’s statehood alongside an independent Arab state.
On the 60th anniversary of the UN Resolution, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has angered many Arabs by what some see as an extremist stance against Palestinian Arabs, had this to say in reference to the coming May 14th celebration:
“I believe that the solution of two nation states serves the interests of both sides. Not every celebration of ours is cause for sorrow on the other side, and vice versa. I say to my Palestinian colleagues: Do not bemoan the establishment of the State of Israel; establish your own state, rejoice in its establishment and we will rejoice with you, since for us the establishment of the Palestinian state is not our Nakba, or disaster — provided that upon its establishment the word ‘Nakba’ be deleted from the Arabic lexicon in referring to Israel.”
Filed under: 1948, 2008, Anniversary, Anniversary Plans, France, Independence, Israel, Israel at 60 Celebration, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel's Birthday Plans, Israel@60, May, Nicolas Sarkozy, Palestine, Paris Book Fair, Turin Book Fair | Tags: Aharon Shabtai, Fiera del libro, Salon du livre, Silvia Cattori
The only Israeli writer to boycott the Paris book fair explains why.
Silvia Cattori & Aharon Shabtaï
26 February, 2008
Countercurrents.orgAn Interview with Aharon Shabtaï
When the announcement that Israel would attend the “Fiera del libro” of Turin, (*) came out, an immediate wave of protest arose in Italy; and many personalities supported the boycott call, made by the Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian Writers’ Associations (**). In France, strangely enough, the same invitation, to the “Salon du livre” of Paris, did not make much noise. Alone, the Israeli poet Aharon Shabtaï has refused to participate in these events, contrary to the 39 Israeli writers who accepted to be part of the Israeli delegation to these two exhibitions. Aharon Shabtaï explains here why these events –which he qualifies as “promotion of propaganda” for Israel-, must be boycotted, as well as any cultural event where this apartheid State is celebrated.
Silvia Cattori: In December 2007, learning that your name was among 40 Israeli writers invited at the “Salon du livre” of Paris where Israel is the “guest of honour”, you declared that it is not possible to participate in an event where Israel, which commits daily crimes against civilians, is invited. Apparently, 39 Israeli writers do not see any problem in participating!?Aharon Shabtaï [1]: This event will be opened by the French president Sarkozy and the Israeli president Shimon Perès. Given this situation, going to the “Salon du livre” of Paris as a writer, with the Israeli delegation, means that you are going dressed with the colour of the Israeli flag. Every day, Israel commits war crimes and imposes collective punishments on the Palestinians. There is no reason to celebrate anything. (more…)
Filed under: Anniversary, Anniversary Plans, Israel, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel's Birthday Plans, Israel@60, Italy, May, Palestine, Turin Book Fair, Who's Celebrating? | Tags: Aharon Shabtai
Peoples Geography: Having first indicated Egypt as their choice, organisers of the Turin Book Fair postponed having Egypt as their international Guest of Honour for 2009. One would consider that in 2008, inviting Palestine as Guest of Honour would have been inspired, a powerful symbolic gesture to a peoples who have not experienced any let-up in blocked efforts towards justice.
Instead, the organisers chose Israel as book fair guest this year. This decision is coupled with the choice of Israel as guest of honour for the Paris Book Fair and is ill-considered, coinciding as it does with the 60th Anniversary of the Naqba and the founding of the state of Israel, and at a time when the Israeli military occupation has only worsened.
Italian and international protests and calls for boycott have ensued, protesting the organisers decision that would serve to “commemorate” the Israeli occupation state and and its repressive policies in the OPT. The protest organisers are “appalled to see the world of culture take the side of those who methodically operate to annihilate Palestine and the Palestinians”.
One of the invited Israeli writers, poet Aaron Shabtai, applied his conscience when he rsvp’ed the organisers. Here is his note to Edna Degon of the organising committee (from Tlaxcala):
Dear Edna,
Thank you for your letter.
I do not believe that a State that maintains an occupation, committing on a daily basis crimes against civilians, deserves to be invited to any kind of cultural week. That is, it is anti-cultural; it is a barbarian act masked as culture in the most cynical way. It manifests support for Israel, and even to France that sustains the occupation. And I do not want to participate.
Kind regards,
Aharon Shabtai
7 December, 2007
Filed under: History, Israel, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel's Birthday Plans, Israel@60, Lebanon, May, Queen Elizabeth II, Ron Prosor, Royal Family, UK, War, War Crimes, Who's Celebrating? | Tags: 1941, 2006 blitz, bombing, britian, British, Buckingham Palace, england, london, nazi
The poor Queen had the recent misfortune to meet Ron Prosor Israel’s Hasbara propaganda officer / ambassador. Apparently he has invited her to come to Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the ethnic cleaning of Palestine. It seems he didn’t get a direct answer saying the balls in her court. How does one politely tell Ron that no one is interested in coming to his party? Has anyone he’s asked said yes? Most are never likely to say yes anyway – he’s asking them to generate news that associates Israel with legitimising top brands. He must know, for example, that Prince Charles has already refused to visit Israel “because of concerns the trip would be used to bolster the country’s international image.”
JP: Israel’s new ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, presented his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
Prosor, who is the 14th Israeli ambassador to the UK, told the queen: “It is an honor for me to present my credentials to the queen in the year that Israel celebrates its 60th year of independence.”
Totally Jewish: They discussed the importance of relations between Israel and Britain and spoke about Holocaust survivors and similarities between rockets falling on Sderot and the Queen’s experiences in London during the Second World War.
I hardly think a few amatuer rockets can be compared to the Nazi Blitz of London. I imagine the Queen spat out her tea in surprise when he mentioned it! The Blitz had more in common with Israel’s bombing of Lebanon in 2006. See here, here, here and here
Filed under: 1948, Anniversary, Anniversary Plans, Book, Europe, France, Independence, Israel, Israel's 60th Anniversary, Israel's 60th Birthday, Israel's Birthday Plans, Israel@60, Italy, May, Palestine, Paris Book Fair, Turin Book Fair | Tags: march 14
It seems obvious why people want to boycott a book fair honouring Israel’s 60th birthday. For one, its now accepted that in 1948 Israel ethnically cleansed most of the local population of Palestine in order to create a predominantly Jewish State. To celebrate the birthday is also to celebrate the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Secondly since 1967 Israel has illegally occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip against the UN plan for peace, resolution 242, which has overwhelming international support.
These are just two examples on a long list of criminal behaviour – but of course all that goes down Orwell’s memory hole and we are expected to believe the boycott is “a new aspect of an ancient hatred and it is very disturbing.” Time and again this claim of anti-Semitism is used without justification. This claim was at its most ridiculous during the 2006 Lebanon war where the motives of peace activists were similarly questioned. The hypocrisy was obvious – you cannot kill Arabs and cry anti-Semitism.
Hopefully the boycott will help raise these issues to the public and encourage Israel to follow international consensus and implement the UN peace plan.
Tariq Ali explains why he will boycott the event.
