[Onthebarricades] PALESTINE, International protests, Aug-Dec 2008

[global resistance roundup]

* IRAN, Dec 1 - students protest Gaza atrocities, demand hard line 
against Israel
* IRAN, Dec 13 - protesters Molotov Saudi airline office to protest 
Israel peace deal
* IRAN, Dec 12 - massive rally against Israel
* IRAN, Dec 8 - anti-Israel protests at Egyptian embassy
* IRAN, Dec 6 - students fast against Gaza blockade
* IRAN, December - protest at Saudi embassy over Arab inaction on Palestine
* JORDAN, Dec 5 - marches protest Gaza blockade
* EGYPT, Dec 4 - oppositionists arrested after Gaza protests
* SYRIA, December - protests at Egyptian embassy over plight of Gaza
* LEBANON, Dec 19 - thousands of Hizbollah supporters protest over Gaza 
blockade
* IRELAND, Dec 20 - Egyptian embassy target for Gaza protest
* BAHRAIN, Dec 19 - mass rally against Gaza blockade; police attack
* IRAN, Nov 17 - students protest at Jordanian embassy
* JORDAN, Nov 19 - thousands protest Gaza blockade
* US: New York, Nov 16 - protests at fundraiser for settlements
* UK, Nov 13 - protest at Israeli president visit
* IRAN, Nov 15 - protest at Qatar embassy
* US: Princeton, Nov 11 - mock checkpoint constructed on campus
* EGYPT, Nov 16 - Islamist students clash with Cairo cops over Gaza blockade
* EGYPT, Oct 27 - Psychologists protest exclusion from Gaza
* JORDAN, Oct 12 - professionals hold sit-down protest against Israel 
imports
* US: Detroit, Aug 21 - dozens protest pro-Israel fair
* UK: Scotland, Aug 30 - protesters disrupt Israeli concert
* IRAN, Sept 26 - Jerusalem Day marked with rallies




http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=612776

Iran: Students stage protest against atrocities in Gaza
Posted: 2008/12/01
From: MNN

A group of students from various universities staged a protest in front 
of the Foreign Ministry here on Sunday to condemn the atrocities 
unleashed by the Zionist regime in Gaza Strip and called for end to the 
blockade.

The university students called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to adopt 
a stronger position against the Zionist regime.

Protesters also demanded the Organization of the Islamic Conference 
(OIC) and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) take immediate and appropriate 
actions against this.

The protestors carried placards, some of which read: 'Down with USA, 
'Down with Zionist', 'We Will Never Keep Silent in the Face of Zionist 
Atrocities in Gaza', 'Israel Is a Cancerous Tumor' and 'We Will Never 
Yield to Suppression'.

They even expressed their hatred for the heinous crimes in Gaza as well 
as the silence of international organizations in this respect.

The students also hoisted the flag of Palestine and chanted a series of 
slogans as 'Down with US-Style Islam', 'Oil Exports Should Be Cut', 
'Down With Reconcilers' and 'Silence of Every Muslim is a Betrayal of 
the Cause of Palestine'.

The students also called on the Iranian government to stop importing 
goods from companies which provide financial support to the Zionists. -- 
IRNA #







http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1046165.html

13/12/2008

Report: Group attacks Saudi airline office in Iran to protest Saudi 
peace plan By Reuters Tags: Saudi peace plan
Iran's state-run newspaper says a militant group has attacked the office 
of Saudi Arabia's state-owned airline in Tehran over a Saudi-backed 
peace initiative with Israel.

Iran newspaper says the group - identified as Ikhwan al-Radwan, or 
Brothers of Heaven in Arabic - attacked the Saudi Arabian Airlines 
office with several Molotov cocktails Wednesday, causing minor damage to 
the building.

Saturday's newspaper report quotes a statement by the group saying the 
reason for the attack was Saudi Arabia's support for an Arab peace 
initiative.

Advertisement

The initiative offers Israel normal relations with all Arab countries if 
it withdraws from lands occupied in 1967 Arab-Israeli war and allows the 
creation of a Palestinian state with a capital in Jerusalem








http://www.payvand.com/news/08/dec/1138.html

12/12/08

Iran holds massive rally to protest Gaza blockade by Israel Reports by 
Press TV
Millions of Iranians have held rallies across the country in 
condemnation of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip against Palestinians.

Demonstrators chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" in the 
capital Tehran and carried banners, denouncing Israel's atrocities in 
the Gaza Strip run by the democratically-elected Palestinian government 
of Hamas.

The Islamic movement does not recognize Israel as a legitimate state.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani
also joined ralliers in Tehran on Friday.

President Ahmadinejad, speaking with reporters, strongly condemned 
Israel's blockade of Gaza, saying Tel Aviv is increasing pressure on 
Palestinians to hinder their upcoming election.

Incumbent Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas' four-year term 
expires on January 9. However, it is unclear when the elections will be 
held.


A recent Israeli National Security Council assessment has urged Tel Aviv 
to hinder "elections in the Palestinian Authority, even at the cost of a 
confrontation with the US and the international community."

At the end of theThursday rallies, a statement was issued in strong 
condemnation of international silence on Israel's siege of the region as 
well as the attacks in the West bank city of al-Khalil.
The Gaza Strip is facing a humanitarian crisis as Israel has imposed an 
economic blockade on the coastal area, turning it to an 'open prison' 
and putting lives of almost 1.5 million residents at stake.

The siege has resulted in the shortage of fuel for the strip's only 
power plant, which could lead to a complete blackout.

The residents are also suffering from the shortage of basic supplies 
including food and medicine.

Hundreds of right-wing Jewish hardliners have been attacking and hurling 
rocks at Palestinians and vandalizing their homes in al-Khalil since 
November.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has urged Israel to end 
Palestinians' suffering.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah has also criticized the 
international community for keeping silent, calling for an end to 
'Israel's crimes' committed against people in the coastal region.






http://www.nowpublic.com/world/huge-rallies-iran-protesting-gaza-blockades

Huge Rallies in Iran Protesting Gaza Blockades
Share:
by Rob Walker | December 12, 2008 at 01:21 pm
180 views | 2 Recommendations | 2 comments
Photos

Iran's government is deeply involved in protests in the country's 
capital, Tehran. Thousands of protesters chanted slogans of 'Death to 
Israel' and 'Death to America', in a rally that Iranian President 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The rallies are protesting the continued blockade of Gaza crossings by 
Israel, and called for all Islamic states to break diplomatic and 
economic ties with Israel.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joined the protests and said Israel 
would soon “fade away”. “The crimes being committed by the Zionist 
regime [Israel] are happening because it is aware that it has reached 
the end of the line and will soon fade away from the Earth,” Mehr news 
agency quoted the President as saying.
Analysts point out that by staging the protests, Iran is sending a 
message in the region that it has emerged as a genuine champion of 
Palestinian rights - a position that neighbouring Arab countries had 
been known for several decades.
Source: hindu.com
Iranians held a protest rally in Tehran on Friday against Israel's 
blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Shouting "down with the U.S." and "down with Israel," the demonstrators 
marched on streets leading to the Tehran University, in which the weekly 
Friday prayer ceremony is held.
In a statement, the protesters denounced that "intensification of cruel 
blockade imposed on Gazans is undoubtedly the offspring of alliance of 
the United States, Israel and some Arab states betrayal."







http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1228728147303

Dec 11, 2008 0:30 | Updated Dec 11, 2008 6:27
Cairo protests anti-Israel demos at its Iran mission
By BRENDA GAZZAR

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry summoned a Cairo-based Iranian diplomatic 
official into its office Tuesday to express its anger over recent 
student demonstrations outside the Egyptian diplomatic mission in 
Teheran, the Iranian FARS news service reported Wednesday.

A view of Teheran, Iran.
Photo: Courtesy
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
The Foreign Ministry also issued a statement Tuesday voicing its 
concerns over the demonstrations staged there from time to time, the 
agency reported.
A representative from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry could not be reached 
for comment late Wednesday, and The Jerusalem Post could not verify the 
report.
According to FARS, dozens of Iranian students demonstrated against Egypt 
in Teheran on Monday, chanting, "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" 
and burning an Israeli flag.
The students were protesting "the Zionist regime's severe crimes in Gaza 
and Egypt's collaboration in exerting pressure on the Palestinian 
people," the agency said.
The Egyptian ministry was also quoted as criticizing some Iranian 
newspapers that have repeatedly insulted Egyptian policies. and 
leadership recently.
FARS reported that several similar demonstrations had been held in 
Teheran in the last week opposite the embassies of other Arab countries 
perceived to be cooperating with Israel by failing to push for the 
removal of the Gaza blockade.






http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1447485.php/Egypt_recalls_envoy_from_Tehran_after_public_protest_

Egypt recalls envoy from Tehran after public protest
Middle East News
Dec 10, 2008, 5:50 GMT
Tehran - Egypt
has recalled its diplomatic envoy from Tehran after a protest was held 
in front of its interest section, Fars news agency reported Wednesday.
Hundreds of Islamist students staged a gathering on Monday in front of 
the Egyptian embassy's interest section in Tehran in protest against 
Egypt's continued cooperation with political arch-foe Israel over the 
ongoing siege of the ruling Hamas group in the Gaza Strip.
Despite reassurances by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi 
that the diplomatic missions in Tehran were sufficiently secured, Cairo 
decided to recall its envoy from the Islamic state.
Local political analysts believe the move will further delay the 
normalization process toward bilateral diplomatic relations, which were 
severed following Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution due to Egypt's Camp 
David Accord with Israel in 1978.
Iran was earlier this year quite hopeful that relations would soon be 
normalized and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even said if Egypt agreed 
to normalize diplomatic relations 'today,' Iran would send an ambassador 
to Cairo 'tomorrow.'
Despite efforts in the last 10 years by both Ahmadinejad and his 
predecessor Mohammad Khatami to resume full diplomatic relations with 
Egypt, the government in Cairo has been hesitant to do so.
One of the main disputes between the two states was the naming of a 
Tehran street after the assassin of former Egyptian president Anwar 
Sadat, which Iran later agreed to change to Intifada (uprising) Street 
in reference to the Palestinian resistance in the occupied West Bank and 
Gaza.
In return, Tehran wants Egypt to change the name of a street in Cairo 
named after the late Iranian king Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi, who is also 
buried in the al-Rifai mosque in the Egyptian capital.






http://www2.irna.ir/ar/news/view/line-22/0812082977183231.htm

Students stage protest in front of Egypt interest section
Tehran, Dec 8, IRNA
Iran-Students-Protest
A group of university students stage a protest gathering in front of 
Egypt interest section in Tehran to condemn atrocities of the Zionist 
regime in Gaza in collaboration with the Egyptian regime which exerts 
pressure on Palestinians.

University students from various cities such as Isfahan, Shahroud, 
Kerman, Shiraz, Mashhad, Zahedan and Tehran took part in the demonstration.
Protesting students expressed their hatred of the heinous crimes being 
committed by the Zionist regime and condemned the silence of 
international organizations in this respect.
They also chanted slogans in condemnation of the Zionist regime and its 
main supporter, the United States of America.
The protestors carried placards reading: 'Down with the US', 'Down with 
the Zionists', 'Israel is a cancerous tumor' and 'We will never yield to 
suppression', 'Palestine should turn to a graveyard for Zionist 
aggressors, ' Palestine is part of Islamic world', 'Down with Mubarak', 
'Hosni Mubarak is a traitor', 'Gaza has turned into Karbala' and 'World 
muslims should be united





http://www.iqna.ir/en/news_detail.php?ProdID=330461

Saturday, December 6, 108 11:54 New ID : 330461 Iranian Students Go 
Fasting to Protest Gaza Blockade
--Iranian university and seminary students will go fasting tomorrow to 
protest the Israeli massacres against the people of Gaza.
A statement issued by students societies of Isfahan Industrial 
University has called on university and seminary students all over the 
country to go fasting on Sunday as a sign of their protest against what 
is going on in Gaza and against the silence of the Islamic world.
It has also called on the students to attend a protest march in Tehran 
on Monday.
The humanitarian situation is deteriorating in Gaza, where continued 
border closures by the Zionist regime in recent weeks have prevented the 
delivery of vital food, medicine and fuel supplies.
330428





http://www.iranembassy.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106%3Astudentsgazza&catid=46%3Agaza-news&Itemid=180&lang=ur

Students protest Arab world's silence in face of Gaza crimes

University students and seminarians' here on Sunday staged a protest 
meeting near the Saudi Embassy to deplore the silence of Islamic 
countries' leaders in the face of crimes committed by the Zionist regime 
in Gaza Strip.
They chanted slogans condemning the Arab world's compromise with the 
Zionist regime on the Palestinian issue.
They also issued a statement, which was read out in Persian and Arabic.
Addressing Muslim nations, the statement said, "You should defend the 
rights of the homeless Palestinians. It's your turn to remove all the 
obstacles to Palestinians defense of their rights."
The students also called on the government to support the oppressed in 
the world.
They even urged the government to revise its policies vis-a vis Arab 
countries which support the Zionist regime.
They carried placards reading 'Every Drop of Oil Equals Israeli bullets'.
Meanwhile, a large number of students also staged a gathering near the 
Swiss Embassy to protest to the world's silence against the merciless 
treatment meted out to the residents of Gaza Strip.
Students from Al-Zahra, Allameh Tabatabaei, Amir Kabir, Sharif, Arak and 
Semnan universities took part in the gathering.
They held the Lebanese flag as well as pictures depicting the crimes of 
the Zionist regime.






http://english.sina.com/world/2008/1205/202970.html

Marches in Jordan to protest Israel's blockade to Gaza
2008-12-05 21:58:11 GMT
AMMAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people in Jordan on Friday took to 
streets in capital of Amman to protest Israel's blockade to the Gaza Strip.
Participants, organized by the Islamic Action Front, marched from Al 
Hussein Mosque to Amman Great Municipality yard, called for supporting 
Gazans to remove the blockade that forced them in difficulties.
Hamam Sa'id, a leader of the march, urged concerned parties to act 
immediately and effectively to put an end to the Israeli siege.
Meanwhile, a similar march took place in northern city of Irbid, where 
participants called on the Arab and Islamic governments to take 
immediate action to lift the siege and dispatch assistance to Gazans.
The Gaza Strip ruled by Hamas has been under tight Israeli blockade for 
a month since violence between Gaza-based Palestinian militant groups 
and Israel flared up on Nov. 4.
On Thursday, Israel decided to allow the delivery of 70 truckloads of 
food and basic supplies into the impoverished strip and limited quantity 
of fuel for the territory's sole power plant.
It is only the fourth time that Israel opened its crossings with Gaza 
since the violence flared up one month ago.





http://palestinechronicle.com/news.php?id=3fe81beaa277f2a4672e43f5cb1f60fc&mode=details

18:44 12/04/2008 Gaza Protests Leads to Egypt Opposition Arrests
Egyptian police on Thursday arrested 64 members of the Muslim 
Brotherhood opposition group for organizing protests against the siege 
of the Gaza Strip, the Islamic group said.
The arrests were made during dawn raids in the northern city of 
Alexandria, the Suez Canal town of Ismailya and other governorates in 
the Nile Delta, the Brotherhood website said.
The arrests were made after the Brotherhood organized "events across the 
country showing solidarity with the Palestinian people, particularly 
those facing the deadly siege in Gaza."
The movement won a fifth of seats in the 2005 parliamentary election, 
which observers said was marred by police intervention and fraud.
Police have arrested dozens of the Islamists this year and also barred 
some of their leadership from travelling abroad.
Gaza Blockade
Israel said it will allow some humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on 
Thursday, easing a month-old closure it imposed on the Hamas-ruled 
territory after a surge in violence.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak authorized the delivery of 70 truckloads of 
food and basic supplies into Gaza and an unspecified quantity of fuel 
for the impoverished territory's sole power plant, his office said in a 
statement.
The statement said the decision was taken as a gesture of goodwill ahead 
of next week's Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice.
This would be the fourth time that Israel is opening its crossings with 
Gaza since violence flared on November 4.
The opening of the crossings will be reviewed on a daily basis and will 
be subject to Palestinian militants halting their rocket fire against 
southern Israel, said defense ministry spokesman Peter Lerner.






http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=61757

64 arrested in Egypt for protests against Gaza siege Updated at: 0400 
PST, Friday, December 05, 2008 ALEXANDRIA: Egyptian police on Thursday 
arrested 64 members of the opposition party Akhwan-ul-Muslimeen for 
organising protests against the siege of the Gaza Strip.

The arrests were made during dawn raids in the northern city of 
Alexandria, the Suez Canal town of Ismailya and other governorates in 
the Nile Delta, the website of Akhwan-ul-Muslimeen said.

It was not immediately possible to confirm the number of arrests with 
security officials.

Earlier this week, police arrested 28 Brothers "for membership of an 
illegal organisation and possession of banned literature," a security 
official said.

The Muslim Brotherhood (Akhwan-ul-Muslimeen), which calls for an Islamic 
state in Egypt through peaceful means, is officially banned by the 
government but fields independent candidates in parliamentary and 
municipal elections.

The movement won a fifth of seats in the 2005 parliamentary election, 
which observers said was marred by police intervention and fraud.

Police have arrested dozens of the Islamists this year and also barred 
some of their leadership from travelling abroad.







http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230111680086

Dec 24, 2008 13:59 | Updated Dec 24, 2008 14:28
Egypt angry over Syrian protests
By THE MEDIA LINE NEWS AGENCY

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry summoned the Syrian ambassador to Cairo 
for consultations on Tuesday to express concern about recent 
demonstrations outside the Egyptian embassy in Damascus.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, right, meets with Palestinian 
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Presidential palace in Cairo, 
Egypt.
Photo: AP

Demonstrators, who according to news reports were mostly Palestinian 
refugees, protested this week against the blockade on Gaza and demanded 
Egypt ease the plight of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Protesters called on Egypt to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and 
Gaza, send aid to the Gazans and not give in to what they called 
American and Israeli pressure.
Egypt insists it is making great efforts to ease the humanitarian 
situation in Gaza and rejects accusations from several Arab countries 
that it is responsible for the suffering of Gazans.

Similar protests against Egypt have taken place in Lebanon, Jordan and 
Iran.
There is already tension between Damascus and Cairo over Egypt's 
involvement in the internal Palestinian crisis.
Egypt has been playing role of mediator in order to bring about 
reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.
But Syria alleges that Egypt is not taking a balanced approach and is 
siding with Fatah.
Syria, it should be noted, hosts several key Hamas leaders in exile and 
Arab critics accuse Syria of siding with Hamas in the conflict.
The Islamist Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, leading to a 
de facto rift between Gaza, which is governed by a Hamas government 
shunned by the international community, and the West Bank, which has a 
separate Western-backed government and is supported by Fatah.
Cairo says any allegations of Egyptian bias in the conflict are untrue 
and insists it is taking an even-handed approach to the dispute.







http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1449440.php/Thousands_in_Lebanon_protest_against_Gaza_blockade_

Thousands in Lebanon protest against Gaza blockade
Middle East News
Dec 19, 2008, 14:01 GMT
Beirut - Thousands of people in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday 
protested Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The protestors, who were mainly followers of the radical Hezbollah 
movement along with some Palestinian factions, roamed the streets waving 
Palestinian flags and yellow Hezbollah flags and chanting 'Gaza, Gaza, 
here we come.'
Hezbollah boy scouts and women in black chadors carried two huge 
Palestinian flags through the crowd.
As they marched, they shouted slogans like 'Death to Israel! Death to 
America!'
Other protestors were carrying placards reading 'No peace if it leads to 
humanitarian catastrophe' and 'May God protect our leader (Hezbollah 
chief Sheikh Hassan) Nasrallah.'
Other demonstrations are also being held in cities in the south and 
north and in the Bekaa Valley to the east of the capital.
Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, which was imposed after the 
Islamist Hamas movement managed to oust forces loyal to Palestinian 
President Mahmoud Abbas in June 2007, tightened even further last month 
because of an upsurge in violence.
Tensions remained high in and around Gaza on Friday as Hamas warned they 
would respond to any attack.
'We are are responsible, like all Arabs and Muslims, to completely 
liberate Palestine, from the (Jordan) river to the (Mediterranean) sea,' 
Hezbollah's deputy secretary general Naim Kassem told the crowd.
'The Palestinian cause is a just cause,' he said as he addressed the crowd.
Many at the demonstration were also carrying pictures of US President 
George W Bush being hit by a shoe thrown by an Iraqi journalist on Sunday.
'No thanks, Mr Bush, we don't want your democracy' and 'We want justice' 
signs carried by the demonstrators read.
Hamas and Hezbollah, are both considered terrorist organizations by the 
United States. They both call for 'resistance' against Israel.






http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3641303,00.html

Mass protest in Beirut against Gaza blockade
Thousands gather after Hizbullah chief's call to rally; Organization's 
deputy chief calls on Egypt to open Rafah crossing
Roee Nahmias
Published: 12.19.08, 17:28 / Israel News

Egypt must open the Rafah crossing on its border with Gaza, said 
Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Kassem, during a speech 
Friday afternoon in Beirut. Hundreds of thousands of Hizbullah 
supporters gathered all over the city in protest of the 'siege' on Gaza.
Hizbullah's 'resistance' efforts

Report: Hizbullah holds exercises south of Litani / Roee Nahmias

(Video) Al-Arabiya reports Shiite terror group conducted military 
maneuvers in southern Lebanon on Saturday despite UN Resolution 1701, 
which has determined region will be demilitarized

"Why is Gaza under siege," asked Kassem in his speech. "Because its 
people rejected humiliating political initiatives and chose resistance. 
Israel doesn't want them to choose their own destiny, so it set up a 
blockade," he said.

"Egypt has all of the religious, moral and legal justification to stand 
with the people in Gaza and Palestine. There is no agreement in the 
world that allows for standing with a blocked, starving people and 
killing women and children," Kassem said.

"Egypt, know that the Arab nation, the Muslim nation, will stand with 
you," he said, adding that "the world must know – the Palestinian people 
will not be defeated and will fight forever. Those standing against them 
will be defeated."

"Palestine is the main problem and we will work to liberate it from the 
(Jordan) River to the sea," he continued, referring to an extremist 
platform that refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist.

"We say to Gaza residents – we are with you in your struggle," Kassem 
said, explaining the rally. "We in Hizbullah will never neglect this 
issue until Palestine is returned to its rightful owners.... I call on 
all Palestinians to unite together in resistance!"

In support of Hamas' decision to end a ceasefire with Israel, he said 
that Hizbullah "would not let the problem of Palestine turn into a 
pathetic ceasefire or allow Palestine to become a refugee camp in Gaza, 
at the expense of the rest of Palestine."








http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1048273.html

20/12/2008



Thousands of Hezbollah supporters protest Gaza siege By The Associated 
Press Tags: lebanon, hassan nasrallah
Thousands of supporters of the militant Hezbollah group swarmed
Beirut's southern suburbs Friday, demanding Israel lift its blockade of 
the Gaza Strip.

The Hezbollah's supporters, including black-clad Shiite women with their 
children, waved flags and carried banners denouncing the Gaza blockade 
as they marched in the neighborhoods devastated by Israeli airstrikes in 
the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Advertisement

Chants of "Death to America" and "Israel is the enemy of Muslims" rang 
out from the crowd.

The protests were in response to a call by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan 
Nasrallah to people across the Arab and Muslim world to help end the 
siege and support the Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after the Islamic militant 
group Hamas seized power of it last year, ousting the forces of moderate 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The barrier was tightened last 
month when Gaza militants resumed firing rockets at Israel.

Addressing the Beirut crowd, Hezbollah deputy leader Sheik Naim Kassem 
called on Arab and Islamic governments to act to help lift the Gaza 
blockade and urged Egypt to take an historic stance and open its border 
crossing with Gaza.

"Silence on the [Gaza] blockade is disgraceful. Silence on the blockade 
amounts to participation in the [Israeli] occupation," Kassem said.

In the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, about 1,000 Hezbollah supporters 
protested the Gaza siege with a sit-in in the city's main square, 
bringing traffic to a halt for about three hours. In Syria, about 3,000 
Palestinian refugees also took part in a demonstration at the Sbeineh 
camp outside of the capital, Damascus.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zouhdi, who joined the demonstration in Syria, 
warned that any Israeli military escalation in Gaza would be met with a 
tough response by Hamas. He also urged Egypt to open the Rafah crossing, 
saying Friday's protests were a message of rage against all parties 
contributing to the Gaza blockade, in a clear reference to Egypt.












http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2008/12/15/205050.htm

Nasrallah calls for popular demonstration in protest of Israeli siege
Dec 15, 2008

Beirut, (SANA)-Secretary General of Hezbollah Hasan Nasrallah on Monday 
called for organizing a popular demonstration next Friday at the 
southern suburb in Beirut in protest of the Israeli unfair siege on Gaza.

"The Israeli siege on Gaza aims at breaking the resistance Will of the 
Palestinian people in order to accept a humiliating settlement that 
won't guarantee the legitimate Palestinian rights," Sheikh Nasrallah 
said in a speech on Gaza siege, broadcast by Al-Manar Lebanese TV station.

"In light of the Israeli field and political escalation and the Israeli 
military threats, there is no hope for any imminent solution to lift the 
siege on Gaza," Hezbollah Leader added.

He underlined that Israel seeks judization of Jerusalem and displacement 
of the remaining Arab residents through a series of limitation steps and 
tear down of houses under any pretext.

Mazen








http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&AFD051CB3230B797C2257520006B3323

Nasrallah Calls for Open-Ended Protest until Gaza Siege is Lifted
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday called for an 
open-ended protest until the Gaza siege is lifted.
"Our actions that will start on Friday will not end on that day, but 
until the Gaza siege is lifted," Nasrallah said in a televised speech 
broadcast on Al-Manar TV, mouthpiece of Hizbullah.

He called for a demonstration to be held next Friday in Beirut's 
southern suburbs.

"The Gaza siege is aimed at defeating the will of the Palestinian people 
so that the Zionists can impose their conditions," Nasrallah said.

He slammed Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for saying Israeli Arabs 
who had national aspirations should move to a Palestinian state when it 
is established.

"What Livni said was not a slip of the tongue," Nasrallah said.

On Thursday, Livni drew criticism for saying "my solution for 
maintaining a Jewish and democratic state of Israel is to have two 
distinct national entities."

"And among other things I will also be able to approach the Palestinian 
residents of Israel, those whom we call Arab Israelis, and tell them: 
'your national aspirations lie elsewhere,'" Livni said.

Nasrallah said there are two scenes in Gaza today -- hunger, cold and 
shelling facing steadfastness.

He called on Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing permanently.

Addressing Arab and world countries, Nasrallah said: "From a 
humanitarian position I tell them that there are one and half million 
people in Gaza who face sickness and death."

"Where is the Arab courage today?" he asked.

Beirut, 15 Dec 08, 21:28







http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhsnkfcwidgb/rss2/

Protest to be staged outside Egyptian embassy in Dublin

20/12/2008 - 08:31:40
A protest is to be staged today outside the Egyptian embassy in Dublin 
over the closure of crossings into the Gaza strip between Israel and Egypt.

The Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza wants Egypt to open its crossing 
with the city of Rajah.

The blockades followed attacks on Israel by Palestinian groups in Gaza.





http://www.arabianbusiness.com/541581-bahraini-police-fire-tear-gas-rubber-bullets-at-protesters

Bahraini police fire tear gas, rubber bullets at protesters
by Dylan Bowman on Friday, 19 December 2008
Bahraini police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to quell thousands of 
protesters calling for action from Arab governments to end Israel's 
blockage of the Gaza Strip, newswire AP reported late on Friday.

Citing witnesses at the scene, AP said several people, including women 
and children, were injured by rubber bullets, while others suffered gas 
inhalation.

More than 10,000 people attended Friday's rally, the newswire said, 
citing opposition leader Ibraheem Sharif.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry denied rubber bullets were used, but said 
tear gas was fired when protesters started throwing stones at security 
forces and destroying public property, AP said.







http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=611748

University students stage protest in front of Jordanian embassy
Posted: 2008/11/17
From: MNN

University students from various universities staged a protest in front 
of the Jordanian embassy here on Monday to condemn the move orchestrated 
by some Arab countries to normalize ties with the Zionist regime.

Iranian university students had earlier staged similar protest in front 
of the Saudi Arabian and Qatari embassies to condemn the move.

The students also condemned the recent confab held in New York on 
'Dialogue among Religions" and said the meeting lacked religious 
identity but was politically motivated to help normalize relations 
between a number of countries in the region with the Zionist regime.

Views of some countries are not the same as the views of Islamic Ummah, 
underlined the students.

The protestors carried placards, some of which read: 'No Compromise, No 
Submission', 'Fight Until Destruction', 'Muslims Should Be United', 
'Zionist Regime Should Be Wiped Off the World Map'. --IRNA #







http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1443919.php/Jordanian_demonstrators_protest_Gaza_blockade_

Jordanian demonstrators protest Gaza blockade
Middle East News
Nov 19, 2008, 22:13 GMT
Amman- Thousands of Jordanians demonstrated Wednesday, demanding an end 
to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The demonstration, which ended in front of the National Assembly 
building, was organized by the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement, 
its political arm - the Islamic Action Front (IAF) and trade unions.
The participants raised placards and chanted slogans that criticized 
Arab countries, particularly Egypt, for their failure to break the siege 
and re-open the crossing points between the Palestinian territory and 
Egypt.
Addressing the rally, IAF secretary general Zaki Bani Ershaid blasted 
what he called the 'free-of-charge normalization' between Arab countries 
and Israel.
'We are today angry because the siege is being implemented by Arab hands 
and the outlets with Gaza are being closed by the Egyptian regime,' he 
said.







http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6537440.html

Jordanian protesters urge Israel to end blockade against Gaza

16:43, November 20, 2008
Hundreds of Jordanians have held a demonstration in the capital Amman in 
protest against Israel's blockade of Gaza, urging for an end to the 
worsening humanitarian conditions in the coastal enclave, daily The 
Jordan Times reported on Thursday.

The protesters marched from the headquarters of the Islamic Action Front 
(IAF), which organized the demonstration, to the parliament building on 
Wednesday, calling for an end to the embargo, according to the report.

IAF secretary general Zaki Bani Rsheid was quoted as saying that "we 
want to send a message to the international community and Western 
governments who claim to stand for democracy and human rights" that 
Israel must stop "the hypocrisy towards our people in Palestine."

"This unjust blockade must stop now," he stressed.

Despite requests from the EU and the UN, Israel continued a complete 
lockdown of the coastal Gaza Strip, keeping cargo crossings, a main 
passageway for fuel and humanitarian aid, shut in response to rocket and 
mortar fire at Israeli border towns.

Source:Xinhua






http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9964.shtml

Groups protest settlement fundraiser at New York hotel
Press release, Adalah-NY, 16 November 2008

Eight groups representing tens of thousands of people in the United 
States, Palestine and Israel have called on the Marriott Marquis hotel 
in Manhattan to cancel the 17 November dinner for the Brooklyn-based 
Hebron Fund aiming to raise money for Israeli settlers in the 
Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron. In a 7 November letter the 
groups stated: "The Marriot Marquis will be facilitating activities that 
directly violate international law and US foreign policy, actively 
promote racial discrimination, and, at least indirectly, support brutal 
Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian civilians and the ethnic 
cleansing of Palestinians from Hebron." The signers of the letter 
include Adalah-NY, Coalition of Women for Peace, (Israel), Gush Shalom 
(Israel), Jews Against the Occupation-NYC, Jewish Voice for Peace, 
Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, US 
Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, and WESPAC Foundation. Adalah-NY 
has called for a protest at the hotel on 17 November if the dinner is 
not cancelled.

Kathleen Duffy, a spokesperson for Marriott in New York City, told 
Adalah-NY on 12 November that the dinner will go ahead. Duffy did not 
respond directly to questions about seeming violations of the Marriott's 
Human Rights Policy Statement which notes the Marriott's respect for the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and says that the Marriott 
endeavors to remain "free from complicity in human rights abuses." All 
Israeli settlements violate international law, according to a broad 
international consensus. Duffy noted that in the past the Marriott 
cancelled the event of a group linked with white supremacist David Duke. 
On the Hebron Fund webpage, clicking on the symbol which says "Give to 
Hebron" leads to a donations page on the website for the Jewish 
Community of Hebron which says, among other things, "keep Hebron Jewish 
for the Jewish people." In a report on Hebron, the Israeli human rights 
organizations B'Tselem and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel 
(ACRI) have labeled the demands of Hebron's settlers as "racist."

Aaron Levitt of Jews Against the Occupation-NYC explains, "As a Jew who 
has worked in Hebron as a human rights monitor, I'm dismayed that the 
Marriott is facilitating fundraising for Hebron's violent Jewish 
settlers. One example of this violence is the ritual stoning by Israeli 
settler youth of Palestinian girls walking to the Cordoba School in Tel 
Rumeida, Hebron. Each day, several dozen young girls hurried to their 
schoolhouse, huddled together, past the entrance of the magnificent new 
settlement synagogue. And each day settler youths standing in front of 
their synagogue would hurl a barrage of stones at the passing girls. The 
attackers' parents did nothing, or watched in approving silence. The 
settlers' violence, and my own shame, was worst on Shabbat, when 
sometimes I would stare at the beautiful synagogue, wondering what 
corrupted version of my faith was practiced there."

In Hebron 700 Israeli settlers, living amidst 150,000 Palestinians, are 
attempting to expand their hold on the historic old city by expelling 
Palestinian residents, and connecting their settlements to the 
neighboring settlement of Kiryat Arba. According to B'Tselem and ACRI, 
Hebron's settlers' attacks on Palestinians have included "physical 
assault, including beatings, at times with clubs, stone throwing, 
hurling of refuse, sand, water, chlorine ... destruction of shops and 
doors, shattering of windows, thefts, cutting of fruit trees, 
destruction of merchants' stands." Defence for Children 
International-Palestine Section has also documented settler attacks on 
Palestinian children in Hebron. In 1994, Baruch Goldstein, a Hebron 
settler who grew up in Brooklyn, executed 29 Palestinians as they prayed 
at a mosque in Hebron.

In a 24 September 2008 radio interview, Hebron Fund Executive Director 
Yossi Baumol explained, "There are real facts on the ground that are 
created by people helping the Hebron Fund and coming to our dinners." 
Creating "facts on the ground" is the mantra of the Israeli settlement 
movement. A March 2007 joint appeal by The Hebron Fund and Jewish 
Community of Hebron called for donations, saying, "Dozens of new 
families can now come live in Hebron ... waiting for you to be their 
partners in the redemption of Hebron -- by providing doors, windows, 
heating systems and many other necessities." The Hebron Fund has 
launched other, similar fundraising appeals for settlements.

A 25 August 2008 Reuters article noted the seeming contradiction that 
"The United States says Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank 
threaten any peace between Israel and the Palestinians -- yet it also 
encourages Americans to help support settlers by offering tax breaks on 
donations." Reuters notes that US non-profits like the Hebron Fund 
fundraise for settlements even as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 
"has pressed Israel to cut its own financial incentives for settlers." 
According to the Hebron Funds US tax forms obtained by Adalah-NY, the 
organization has raised $10.4 million for Hebron's settlers from 
2000-2006. The Hebron Fund's 1982 "Certificate of Incorporation" as a 
not-for-profit, also obtained by Adalah-NY, says the purpose of the 
organization is to "advance public knowledge and disseminate 
information," and to raise money for various "educational, religious and 
medical institutions located in Hebron." There is no mention of 
settlement construction.







http://www2.irna.ir/fa/news/view/line-20/0811139074184226.htm

Protest at Israeli president's visit to UK
London, Nov 13, IRNA
UK-Israel
A peaceful demonstration is being planned at Oxford University against 
the decision by Balliol College to award an honorary degree on Israeli 
President Shimon Peres, who has been accused of ethnic cleansing.
The protest in front of the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, west of 
London, is being timed to coincide with Peres making a speech next 
Tuesday evening.
"It is unusual for a college to implicate itself in such a fashion with 
an acting head of a state, let alone with a head of a state that is 
known to commit human rights abuses on such a large scale," the 
Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said.
"Instead of supporting the occupied, Balliol has decided to reward the 
oppressor. In response, we must show our solidarity with the occupied 
people of Palestine, and declare our complete rejection of, and 
opposition to, the policies of the state of Israel, the state that Peres 
represents," PSC said.
It said that Peres is responsible for the occupation of Palestine, the 
longest military occupation in modern history, and for the ethnic 
cleansing and dispossession of the Palestinian people, the world's 
largest refugee population.
"Israel, currently violates the International Convention on the 
Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, as officially 
noted in the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the 
Occupied Palestinian Territories," it added.
The UK-based campaign believed that the apartheid system in South Africa 
only fell due to international pressure exerted against its 
representatives and institutions and said it can only fall in Israel 
through the adoption of a similar strategy that can lead to peace.
Peres himself was accused of being personally responsible for numerous 
crimes and human rights breaches, including playing a leading personal 
role in the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine for purchasing weapons 
for the Haganah terrorist militia.
He was also held responsible for being "the father of the Israeli 
nuclear project," illegally introducing nuclear weapons into the Middle 
East for the first time.
It has been reported that during his visit to the UK next week, he is 
controversially also being given an honorary knighthood and being 
allowed the distinction of addressing both houses of parliament, but 
have yet to be confirmed.
Honorary knighthoods are normally conferred on foreign nationals on 
recommendations made by the Foreign Office to those "who have made a 
significant contribution to relations between the United Kingdom and 
their own country."
But in the last 20 years, recipients eventually stripped of their titles 
have included most recently, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and 
Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania, three days before he was executed at the 
end of 1989







http://www2.irna.ir/fa/news/view/line-22/0811166210014745.htm

Students stage a protest in front of Qatar embassy
Tehran, Nov 15, IRNA
Iran-Qatar-Protest
A group of students from various universities staged a protest in front 
of the Qatari embassy here on Saturday to condemn the move orchestrated 
by some Arab countries on normalizing ties with the Zionist regime.

The protestors carried placards, some of which read: 'No Compromise, No 
Submission', 'Fight Until Destruction', 'Muslims Should Be United', 
'Zionist Regime Should Be Wiped Off the World Map'.
At the end of the protest, the students issued a statement to denounce 
the move








http://www.uwire.com/Article.aspx?id=3520290

Mock Israeli checkpoint constructed in protest at Princeton
By Lauren Christensen
November 11, 2008
Source: The Daily Princetonian, Princeton

Students trying to walk through the north entrance doors of Princeton's 
Frist Campus Center during peak hours Monday may have encountered some 
obstacles, as the Princeton Committee on Palestine held a series of 
three demonstrations to protest the establishment of military 
checkpoints on roads in the West Bank and along its border.
“Armed” with plastic weapons, PCP members Theo Beers, a senior, and 
graduate student Yael Berda played the parts of Israeli soldiers, 
blocking the central entrance to simulate the checkpoints on many roads 
essential to everyday travel in the region.
All students who tried to enter the building during the demonstrations 
were asked to show their proxes to pass. Occasionally, Beers and Berda 
refused passage through the center entryway altogether, instructing 
students to use alternate entrances.
PCP members Fadi Abdeljawad, a graduate student, freshmen Nicole Rafidi 
and Sahin Naqvi, as well as non-member Saud Al-Thani, a sophomore, 
played the role of Palestinians.
They were in some cases required by Beers and Berda to give up their 
belongings to be searched. Some were asked to lift up their clothing to 
ensure that they were not carrying a bomb.
Meanwhile, seniors Issa Ashwash and Adrienne Clermont, sophomore Clare 
Herceg and freshman Mika Devonshire distributed fliers and answered 
questions about the demonstrations.
“The main goal [of the protest] is to bring awareness to the Princeton 
campus about what’s going on in Palestine,” Abdeljawad said, adding that 
the Israeli occupation of the West Bank was a “violation of freedom.”
Naqvi said the Princeton community needed to observe the demonstration.
“Many students don’t even know that any wall has been built in the 
region and are not aware of the human rights and international law that 
it violates,” Naqvi said in an e-mail, referring to the fortified 
barrier around portions of the border of the West Bank. He added that 
PCP hoped the protest would “foster some sort of dialogue, however 
informal.”
“I feel that many students just simply don’t care enough about the issue 
to discuss it in any detail,” Naqvi said. “Perhaps this protest will 
inspire or provoke them to do so.”
Tigers for Israel president Jacob Loewenstein said that “the process of 
passing through Israeli checkpoints is by no means easy,” but he added 
that “it is irresponsible to reinforce the perception of Israeli 
soldiers as the brutes they are portrayed as.”
Loewenstein said that though there may be problems with the 
implementation of the checkpoints, they are necessary for Israeli defense.
“Tigers for Israel acknowledges that conditions at the checkpoints are 
not ideal, but their full removal is impossible,” he said. 
“Unfortunately, their effectiveness is proved all too often.”
Abdeljawad said, however, that because “most of the checkpoints are 
between Palestinian villages” and not on the boundary between the West 
Bank and Israel, the Israeli checkpoints in Palestinian areas are “part 
of [the] occupation” and not the security infrastructure.
PCP’s demonstration aimed specifically to address the effect of the 
checkpoints on Palestinian youth, Abdeljawad explained.
“The whole scene wants to show a typical young-aged Palestinian trying 
to get to school or to a job in the morning or to visit family members 
in another town. This is what they go through every day,” he said. “In a 
typical scenario, you might [want] to travel between two places that are 
really only 15 minutes apart, and [because of the checkpoints] it might 
take you four to six hours.”
For Abdeljawad, this issue is personal. A native Palestinian, he 
recently traveled to see the West Bank barrier in person.
“It’s shocking when you go to really see [the wall],” he said. “I tried 
to travel between towns, and it’s close to impossible.”






http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1041257.html

Last update - 14:56 26/11/2008

Islamist students protesting Gaza blockade clash with Cairo police By 
Reuters Tags: Muslim Brotherhood
Hundreds of Islamist students demanding an end to the blockade of Gaza 
clashed with riot police outside Cairo University on Wednesday and 
students said nine of their colleagues were injured.

Riot police hit the demonstrators with wooden batons and some of the 
students hit back with their own sticks, Reuters photographer and 
witness Nasser al-Nouri said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, has been 
campaigning for months against the blockade of Gaza, a territory 
controlled by its allies in Hamas.

Advertisement

The Egyptian government cooperates with the Israeli blockade, mainly to 
prevent Israel from transferring to Egypt full responsibility for 
supplying Gaza.

The Brotherhood and other opposition groups have tried to arrange 
convoys of humanitarian aid from Egypt to Gaza but the Egyptian police 
have stopped them en route and sent them back.







http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=28957

Jordan protests at abuse of prisoner in Israel

Prisoners' rights group in Jordan says Jordanian inmate in Israeli jail 
been beaten, held in isolation.

AMMAN - A prisoners' rights group in Jordan said on Wednesday that a 
Jordanian inmate in Israeli jail has been beaten and held in isolation, 
a day after a rare family visit.
Abdullah al-Barghuti was the subject of "ill-treatment, blows, being 
kept in isolation and is barred from having visitors," said a committee 
for prisoners in Israel that is run by Jordan's trade unions.
In solidarity, two other prisoners, Merhi Abu Saida and Munir Merhi, 
refused on Tuesday to see their relatives, as part of efforts to press 
for Barghuti's wife who lives in the Palestinian territories to be 
allowed to visit, it said.
The committee urged the Amman government, which has a 1994 peace treaty 
with Israel, to press for the release of Jordanian prisoners.
A group of 37 Jordanians on Tuesday made a rare visit to relatives 
jailed in Israel. The visitors spent time with 16 prisoners at a jail in 
the coastal city of Netanya, according to an AFP photographer.
The visit was the second in two years and the third since Jordan and 
Israel signed the peace treaty.
Opposition groups accuse the Jordanian government of "negligence" in its 
handling of the prisoner issue.
They say that more than 35 Jordanians are jailed in Israel while 
official figures put the figure at around 20.







http://news.egypt.com/en/200810264557/news/middle-east/doctors-protest-israeli-blockade-of-gaza.html

Doctors protest Israeli blockade of Gaza

Written by Egypt News
Monday, 27 October 2008
Dozens of mental health specialists on Sunday protested Israel’s closure 
of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip after they were prevented from entering to 
attend a conference there
Around 70 demonstrators waved signs denouncing the Israeli closure of 
the Palestinian territory, with slogans such as “Let Gaza live” and 
“Israel: a medical conference is a security threat?”
Doctors from several countries had hoped to attend a conference on 
mental health in the impoverished coastal territory hosted by the World 
Health Organisation (WHO), but Israeli authorities did not allow them to 
enter.
The conference, which will be held on Monday with doctors in the West 
Bank town of Ramallah participating via video conferencing, will focus 
on the impact of the Israeli blockade on the mental health of Gaza 
residents.
The Israeli military rejected the doctors’ accusations in a statement, 
saying it would allow medics to enter Gaza to provide care but not to 
attend a conference in a “territory controlled by terrorists.”
Israel has sealed the territory of 1.5 million people off from all but 
limited humanitarian aid since the Islamist Hamas movement -- which is 
pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state -- seized power there in 
June 2007.
EGYPT NEWS





http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093215390

Jordan- Hundreds protest import of Israeli produce

Jordan Times -12/10/2008

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Over 200 members of the Kingdom's professional 
associations staged a one-hour sit-in at Khreibet Al Souq's central 
vegetable market on Saturday to protest the import of fruits and 
vegetables from Israel.

The protest, which was called for by the associations' 
Anti-Normalisation Committee, was designed to highlight the rising 
number of goods from the Jewish state entering the country.

"We strongly reject and condemn doing business with the Israeli enemy as 
if it was a neighbour. What is imported from Israel can easily be 
imported from other neighbouring countries," committee president Badi 
Rafayah told The Jordan Times on Saturday, adding that consumers should 
be enlightened as to the origin of imported products.

"We want our people to know that produce imported from Israel is grown 
in lands that were seized by force from the Palestinians by Israeli 
settlers," Rafayah said.

Although Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, professional 
associations and opposition parties prohibit their members from having 
any links with the Jewish state.

Jordan Agricultural Engineers Association President Abdul Hadi Falahat 
said yesterday that the volume of imports from Israel has witnessed a 
recent rapid increase, prompting the sit-in.

"During the past three months, approximately 3,400 tonnes of vegetables 
and 1,400 tonnes of fruit were imported from the Israeli enemy," Falahat 
told The Jordan Times, adding that imports mainly consisted of mangos, 
kiwis, carrots and potatoes.

Although many traders responded to the associations' call and stopped 
dealing with Israeli companies, he pointed out that several importers 
still insist on dealing with produce from the Jewish state, 
necessitating further action by the committee.

"The sit-in is just the first step and will be followed by other 
measures, such as an anti-normalisation conference to be held October 
25," Falahat said, adding that the association will release the names of 
traders who continue to import Israeli goods.

Meanwhile, some protesters at yesterday's sit-in burned Israeli flags, 
calling on the government to shut down the "Zionist embassy" in Amman, 
referring to the Israeli embassy in the Rabia neighbourhood.

Other participants carried posters describing agricultural normalisation 
with Israel as a "threat to the country's economy and the people".

The sit-in ended peacefully without incident.






http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/154184

Jordan: Muslims, Leftists Protest Israeli Fruit

Reported: 04:25 AM - Oct/12/08

(IsraelNN.com) Muslim extremists and leftists united on Saturday in 
Jordan to protest imports of fruit grown in Israel. Hundreds of 
protesters organized a sit-in and called on merchants to boycott Israeli 
produce, particularly exotic fruits such as mango, kiwi, and pineapple. 
Many protesters burned Israeli flags and empty boxes used to ship 
Israeli fruit.
Several members of Jordan's parliament participated in the protest. 
While Jordan is officially at peace with Israel, many Jordanians remain 
hostile towards Israel and companies that do business with Israel 
frequently face boycotts.






http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=11266

Hundreds protest import of Israeli produce

An elderly man carries a vegetable sack and looks on as he passes by a 
rally to protest importing Israeli agricultural and other products in 
Amman Saturday (Photo by Hani Hazaimeh)

By Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN - Over 200 members of the Kingdom's professional associations 
staged a one-hour sit-in at Khreibet Al Souq’s central vegetable market 
on Saturday to protest the import of fruits and vegetables from Israel.
The protest, which was called for by the associations’ 
Anti-Normalisation Committee, was designed to highlight the rising 
number of goods from the Jewish state entering the country.
"We strongly reject and condemn doing business with the Israeli enemy as 
if it was a neighbour. What is imported from Israel can easily be 
imported from other neighbouring countries," committee president Badi 
Rafayah told The Jordan Times on Saturday, adding that consumers should 
be enlightened as to the origin of imported products.
"We want our people to know that produce imported from Israel is grown 
in lands that were seized by force from the Palestinians by Israeli 
settlers," Rafayah said.
Although Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, professional 
associations and opposition parties prohibit their members from having 
any links with the Jewish state.
Jordan Agricultural Engineers Association President Abdul Hadi Falahat 
said yesterday that the volume of imports from Israel has witnessed a 
recent rapid increase, prompting the sit-in.
"During the past three months, approximately 3,400 tonnes of vegetables 
and 1,400 tonnes of fruit were imported from the Israeli enemy," Falahat 
told The Jordan Times, adding that imports mainly consisted of mangos, 
kiwis, carrots and potatoes.
Although many traders responded to the associations’ call and stopped 
dealing with Israeli companies, he pointed out that several importers 
still insist on dealing with produce from the Jewish state, 
necessitating further action by the committee.
"The sit-in is just the first step and will be followed by other 
measures, such as an anti-normalisation conference to be held October 
25," Falahat said, adding that the association will release the names of 
traders who continue to import Israeli goods.
Meanwhile, some protesters at yesterday’s sit-in burned Israeli flags, 
calling on the government to shut down the "Zionist embassy” in Amman, 
referring to the Israeli embassy in the Rabia neighbourhood.
Other participants carried posters describing agricultural normalisation 
with Israel as a "threat to the country's economy and the people".
The sit-in ended peacefully without incident.






http://www.workers.org/2008/us/israel_0904/

Protest against Israel’s founding
Published Aug 28, 2008 10:42 PM

On Aug. 21, about 70 protesters challenged the “Fair to Remember” event 
at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit that marked the 60th 
anniversary of the founding of the U.S.-backed Israeli settler state, an 
event known in Palestine as the Nakba or the catastrophe.
Protest sponsors and endorsers included the Middle East Task Force, the 
Michigan Peace Team, Ann Arbor Middle East Film Society and Jewish 
Witnesses for Peace. In an article entitled “Demonstrators protest 
apartheid at State Fairground,” the Arab American News quoted an 
organizer who was “enraged at the idea of holding a celebration of what 
she calls ‘the violent ethnic cleansing and colonization of Palestine in 
1948,’ in a poor neighborhood in Detroit.”
Members of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice 
held a banner with the message: “Israeli terror paid for by U.S.A. Money 
for our cities, not for war.”
–Report and photo by Cheryl LaBash






http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/AntiIsrael-protest-is-countered-by.4442409.jp

Anti-Israel protest is countered by standing ovation

Published Date: 30 August 2008
By Tim Cornwell
PROTESTERS who interrupted a concert by Israeli musicians five times 
yesterday sparked outrage – but the audience for the recital, by the 
Jerusalem Quartet as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, 
responded with a standing ovation.
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign claimed to have struck a blow 
against a group they claimed were "cultural ambassadors for Israel".

Five Scottish protesters stood up, one after another, at the concert in 
the Queen's Hall to disrupt the performance, denouncing "Israeli army 
musicians", before being bundled out and arrested. The group campaigns 
for a cultural boycott of Israeli.

But the audience yesterday rallied to the musicians – two of whom are 
members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, established to promote 
harmony between Israeli and Arab musicians and cultures. Some tried to 
silence the protesters or drown them out with clapping.

Hugh Kerr, formerly the MEP overseeing the European Parliament's music 
policy, was at the concert. He said: "I am a long-time supporter of 
Palestinian rights, as I suspect were many in the Queen's Hall this 
morning. However, the effect was totally counterproductive."

The Scotsman's music critic, Susan Nickalls, called it "absolutely 
disgraceful … Even if one might have sympathy with the Palestinian 
cause, this was not the platform. The audience had come to hear an 
uncontroversial programme of Brahms, Smetana and Haydn, not the views of 
political activists."

The Edinburgh International Festival's theme this year is "Artists 
without Borders" and includes performers from Israel, Iran and Palestine.

A spokeswoman said the four musicians – Alexander Pavlovsky, Sergei 
Bresler, Amichai Grosz and Kyril Zlotnikov – had indeed done the 
military service required of Israeli citizens. However, they are now 
full-time musicians.

The EIF's artistic director Jonathan Mills, who also watched the 
concert, said: "I was moved by the commitment to their artistry in 
performing their entire programme and in doing so they were rewarded 
with a rare but very well-deserved standing ovation."







http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2008/09/26/194259.htm

Iranian demonstrations commemorating Jerusalem Day
Sep 26, 2008
Tehran, (SANA)-Iranian big cities on Friday witnessed mass 
demonstrations in commemoration of the International Jerusalem Day ( 
International Day of al-Quds) which comes on the last Friday of Ramadan.
During the demonstrations, millions of Iranians carried placards and 
signs condemning the US- backed Israeli occupation of the Arab lands, 
reading slogans that confirm their support and solidarity with the 
Palestinian people to regain their usurped rights.
For his part, Secretary General of the International Conference of 
al-Quds in Iran Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur criticized the international 
incapability of solving the Palestinian issue and the occupied Jerusalem 
city due to the dominance of superpowers that support Israel.

International Jerusalem Day is an annual event condemning Israel's 
occupation of Jerusalem.
Mazen