Daily Kos

UPDATE: Palestinians rally for release of CPT hostages In Iraq.

by 8ackgr0und N015e

Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 06:39:24 AM PDT

Yesterday in Hebron Palestinians held a rally calling for the release of the Christian Peacemakers Team being held hostage in Iraq.  These Palestinians are standing in solidarity with the hostages because they know that Tom Fox, one of the hostages, on many occasions had stood between Palestinian children and Israeli tanks.

I don't know why, but these rallies are getting very little coverage... even in the Arabic press.  We need to get the word out.  Links for contacting Al Jazeera, Al Hayat, and Al Quds are provided along with more info on the flip

A demonstration will be held in Rammallah today at the Al Manara square 3:00 PM to call for the release of the four kidnapped peace activists in Iraq.

Speakers at the demonstration will include a representative of the Palestinian Islamic Forum, Shawkat Samha The Mayor of Jayouss (where Harmeet and Tom volunteered), Mustapha Barghouti head of the Palestinian Initiative and Kadura Fares of the National committee against the wall and settlements.

This is the second rally in support of the CPT hostages being held in Iraq. Yesterday, friends of Tom Fox in Hebron held a rally also calling for the release of the CPT hostages. A third demonstration will be held in the village of Tawani, tomorrow at 1:30, where American Tom Fox served as a volunteer.

The four workers for the group Christian Peacemaking Teams - an American, a Briton and two Canadians - were shown in a video released by an Iraqi militant group on Tuesday. Three of the four CPT (Christian Peace Maker Teams) activists Kidnapped in Iraq spent time in the West Bank aiding the Palestinians in CPT and ISM (International Solidarity Movement).

Calls for there release have been made by Head Mufti Akrema Sabri, The Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades, The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces in Hebron, The Popular Committees Against the Wall and Settlements and the Palestinian Islamic Forum.

Tom Fox's blogs are located here:
http://waitinginthelight.blogspot.com/
http://prayerandactionforiraq.blogspot.com/

Urge the Arabic media this is a story worth covering.

Contact info
Al Hayat   information@alhayat.com
Al Quds    alquds@alquds.co.uk
Al Jazeera  http://english.aljazeera.net and use "feedback".

Let them know this is an opportunity for them to plant their flag in the "camp of peace" envisioned by the late King Hussein of Jordan.

We belong to the camp of peace. We believe in peace. We believe that our one God wishes us to live in peace and wishes peace upon us, for these are His teachings to all the followers of the three great monotheistic religions, the children of Abraham.

Let's not keep silent. Let our voices rise high to speak of our commitment to peace for all times to come, and let us tell those who live in darkness who are the enemies of life, and through faith and religion and the teachings of our one God, this is where we stand.

This is our camp. May God bless you with the realization that you must join it and we pray that He will, but otherwise we are not ashamed, nor are we afraid, nor are we anything but determined to fulfill the legacy for which my friend fell, as did my grandfather in this very city when I was with him and but a young boy.

-- King Hussein bin Talal ( over the grave of Yitzhak Rabin)

Tags: Christian Peacemaker Teams, tom fox, cpt, iraq, hostages, palestinians (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 53 comments

  •  Great diary - recommended. (4.00 / 3)

    One quick suggestion for the title.  I would add "in Iraq" to the end of it so that it gives a more complete picture to those who don't know what CPT is (such as myself).  I think you will generate more traffic that way.  

    by MattR on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 06:37:49 AM PDT

  •  Highly recommend. (4.00 / 2)

    by rolet on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 06:40:44 AM PDT

  •  Teriific article (4.00 / 4)

    Thank you.

    I've reposted it here:

    http://www.livejournal.com/...

    Best,

    Marc

    I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.

    by ccnwon on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 06:52:41 AM PDT

    •  Help (4.00 / 3)

      I'm still a bit of a newbie. How do I rate the article? I seem to be confused as to wheteher I am rating my comment or the article. Need more coffee, obviously. Best to all....marc

      I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.

      by ccnwon on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 06:58:23 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  recommended (4.00 / 7)

    These are the people who amoung other things, walk Palestinian children to school and get shot at for their efforts.  
    I have wondered exactly why they were kidnapped in the first place. Surely the Iraqi's know they aren't spies.

    Unseen Gore Video

    by TeresaInPa on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 06:52:54 AM PDT

    •  A VERY Good Question (4.00 / 6)

      One of the things that makes me more and more suspicious that the loonier actions of some claiming to be part of the Iraqi resistance may actually be U.S./U.K. black ops is how they seem to ramify on Palestinian politics. For instance, the bombing of the wedding party in Jordan by "Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia" conveniently killed a Fatah official (the wedding was Palestinian). The targetting of CPT seems to also fit this pattern.

      Sick of candidate diaries? Kasama!
      "Tell no lies. Claim no easy victories" -- Amilcar Cabral

      by Christopher Day on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 07:04:04 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  I really don't think they care (none / 1)

      There are elements in Iraq that don't seem to be interested in make fine distictions between "good" westerners and "bad" westerners. Any westerner is a target.

      Lying can never save us from another lie - Vaclav Havel

      by Muwarr90 on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 07:08:19 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Indeed (4.00 / 2)

        but we should also ask who benefits most from this lack of nuance and consider the possibility that these are counter-insurgecy operations designed precisely to discredit and sow divisions within the resistance. There is sadly a long history of this sort of thing in U.S. and U.K counter-insurgency strategy. (Check out Gen'l Frank Kitson's theory of the "pseudo-gang".)

        Sick of candidate diaries? Kasama!
        "Tell no lies. Claim no easy victories" -- Amilcar Cabral

        by Christopher Day on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 07:23:17 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      •  Sounds like a Rumsfeldian talking point to me... (none / 1)

        "They are animals, they are incapable of differentiating between good and bad westerners."

        "A good westerner is a dead westerner."

        What a crock of shit. US/UK PSYOPS written all over this one.

        Joe Lieberman's performance puts him on the side of land theft.

        by Joe Lebensrauman on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 08:40:11 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  Proof? (none / 0)

          Do you have any proof of that?

          Don't fool yourself, the Iraqi insurgency isn't entirely made up of peaceloving freedom fighters who just want to expell the US so that they can make Iraq a land of brotherly love.

          Take off the rose colored glasses when you look at the "insuregents".

          Lying can never save us from another lie - Vaclav Havel

          by Muwarr90 on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 09:46:47 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  Where's your proof that insurgents, (none / 0)

            or to engage in more Rumsfeldian nuance, "enemies of the legitimate Iraqi gov't" just indiscriminately kill all westerners willy-nilly?

            Sounds like you may be a firm believer in the Pentagoons' concoction of "Al Qaida in Iraq." Is Zarqawi your bogeyman, too?

            Joe Lieberman's performance puts him on the side of land theft.

            by Joe Lebensrauman on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 10:05:36 AM PDT

            [ Parent ]

            •  No proof I could supply (none / 0)

              No proof I could supply would convince you of anything, I'm sure. With you "logic" ianything can be dismissed as pentagon propaganda.

              I choose to believe neither side is wholly innocent. You see everything in black and white.

               

              Lying can never save us from another lie - Vaclav Havel

              by Muwarr90 on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 10:08:43 AM PDT

              [ Parent ]

              •  I agree that neither side is wholly innocent. (none / 0)

                But, unquantified statements such as these must be checked IMO.

                >>>>
                There are elements in Iraq that don't seem to be interested in make fine distictions between "good" westerners and "bad" westerners. Any westerner is a target.
                >>>>

                I think your statement would have been more compelling and accurate if you had said that a small number of fighters, <5% approximately, probably want to harm any "infidels" regardless of their stated purpose/behavior in Iraq.

                Joe Lieberman's performance puts him on the side of land theft.

                by Joe Lebensrauman on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 10:29:42 AM PDT

                [ Parent ]

                •  Ok (none / 0)

                  I see you're point. An I do agree we should all be careful of the statements we make.

                  But do YOU see your Point?

                  "What a crock of shit. US/UK PSYOPS written all over this one."

                  Your unquantified and unqualiied statements are to be taken at face value?

                  Lying can never save us from another lie - Vaclav Havel

                  by Muwarr90 on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 10:34:57 AM PDT

                  [ Parent ]

                  •  Your propaganda begets my propaganda, holmes. (none / 0)

                    Seriously now. There has been much speculation and debate surrounding several high profile and seemingly counterproductive abductions in Iraq.

                    1. Nick Berg
                    2. The British-Iraqi CARE worker
                    3. The Italian Reporter that broke the WP/Napalm story a year ago and was fired upon by US forces upon her escape.

                    Joe Lieberman's performance puts him on the side of land theft.

                    by Joe Lebensrauman on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 10:44:48 AM PDT

                    [ Parent ]

                    •  Speculation, yes (none / 0)

                      But you don't say that it's speculation, do you?

                      And we're back to where we started. I suggest that "elements", not all, of the Iraqi insurgency do not discriminate in the westerners they target. That's propaganda in your opinion.

                      Your speculations are to be treated as fact.

                      I got it now. Thanks.

                      Lying can never save us from another lie - Vaclav Havel

                      by Muwarr90 on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 10:49:02 AM PDT

                      [ Parent ]

    •  CPTers are my heros... (4.00 / 3)

      it doesn't suprise me that palestinians in hebron would protest for their release - there has been a CPT team in hebron for about 10 years.

      i met 2 of the hebron CPT members in bethlehem in 2002 when they gave us (ISM volunteerrs) nonviolence training.  i am in awe of the work they do, and the dangers they knowingly face.  true moral and physical courage.

      many here have far more knowledge about CPT in general and this specific team... but, i just had to say a word on their behalf.  i hope and pray for their safe return.

      by selise on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 08:43:04 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Recommended - and note (4.00 / 3)

    as I read this, one of the members of Tom's support committee, Paul Slattery (like me and Tom a member of Lnagley Hill Monthly Meeting) is talking about his own experiences doing coummunity building in Afghanistan.  He will also answer some questions about Tom's work, so I will let him know this news.

    do we still have a Republic and a Constitution if our elected officials will not stand up for them on our behalf?

    by teacherken on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 07:29:42 AM PDT

    •  For those interested in helping (4.00 / 5)

      If you missed my diary yesteday, I mentioned the coverage Tom Fox received in the Washington Post.  They quoted Anne Bacon, clerk of the Hopewell Quaker group, explaining how the biggest hurdle for her was to suppress any urge to lash out at those who have taken Fox hostage.

      "I know Tom would not want the captors vilified or demonized. Sometimes it's hard, when it's someone you care about. . . . I'll be honest about it," Bacon said. She said she's looking to prayer for help. "We're holding him in the light, as well as the other hostages, the captors, his family."

      Doug Smith, Clerk for Langley Hill Friends Meeting, tells me they have "asked everyone at Langley Hill to spend some time at 7 am and 7 pm each day holding Tom, his fellow captives, their families, and their captors in the Light."

      If anyone reading this is moved to help, feel free to join us.  Let's make 7 o'clock a moment of reflection. Set your watch, PDA, or phone, to remind you and then take a moment of silent reflection wherever you are.

      Ars Oblivionalis: The Art of Forgetting.

      by 8ackgr0und N015e on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 07:40:02 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  I do not trust (4.00 / 2)

    anything that is going on over there. This kidnapping benefits a certain gameplan. Makes me think "covert." I'm wondering what really is going on.

    "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction." --Blaise Pascal

    by lyvwyr101 on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 07:42:55 AM PDT

  •  And in the U.S. . . (4.00 / 2)

    the rightwingers are gloating over these guys being taken hostage, with Rumbaugh proclaiming how great it is that these peaceniks are getting a dose of 'reality.'  Disgusting.

    "Going to church does not make us Christians any more than stepping into our garage makes us a car." --Rev R. Neville

    by catleigh on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 07:55:02 AM PDT

  •  BUT... (none / 1)

    The MSM instead shows dated footage of Palestinians dancing in the streets...at the capture of the PeaceMaker team.

    Wolf "ex-AIPAC" Blitzer leads the smear.

    Joe Lieberman's performance puts him on the side of land theft.

    by Joe Lebensrauman on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 07:59:20 AM PDT

  •  Quakers (4.00 / 4)

    Personally, I think we all need a little education from the Quakers. They started a school for women in Palestine in 1904 and have been going to Ramallah pretty much since then.

    They also were huge in the creation and implementation of the Underground Railroad. Al-Jazeera should talk about their history in leading Americans in thought and action. The dedication that they have to peace is real, and is an example to us all.

    When they venture forth to try and intercede in a positive manner, and are captured--it makes it harder for those advocating a peaceful resolution to follow their lead.

    I hope that Al Jazeera can help get the message out that they are altruistic in their motives and are not spies. They want to help.

    by fratdog on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 08:33:09 AM PDT

    •  Tom IS a Quaker, but (4.00 / 4)

      the ohters are not.   CPT is a collaborative effort by Mennonites, Brethren and Quakers.  Tom actually received his training at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg VA

      while we Quakers do have a long tradition of this kind of witnesssing (living out our commitment to the Peace Tsteimony), we are not the only group, and full credit should be given to the others, who are equally motivated by their sense of faith.

      do we still have a Republic and a Constitution if our elected officials will not stand up for them on our behalf?

      by teacherken on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 08:44:18 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  You are correct (none / 0)

        Thank you for bringing that to my attention.

        by fratdog on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 08:49:21 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      •  VERY important point (none / 0)

        Although I have focused on Tom Fox, he is not the only reason people are flocking to support the CPT hostages.  CPT has been working in the area for years.  Quakers are only one component of the membership.  This has enabled them to have a much broader impact.  

        On a related note... it is unfortunate that the nature of the coalition (CHRISTIAN Peacemaker Teams) has apparently made it difficult for like minded Jewish groups to participate.  It is a shame because I know there are MANY Jews and  Jewish congregations that are sympathetic to the goals and methods of CPT.  This lack of coordination on the ground is the one thing I find discouraging about how CPT has been working.

        Ars Oblivionalis: The Art of Forgetting.

        by 8ackgr0und N015e on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 08:57:05 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  How CPT works (none / 0)

          CPT is a relatively small non-profit organization for all of the work that it does.  It does not require volunteers to belong to traditional peace churches and will accept Jewish volunteers.  It also has been a model for some other faith based groups, like the World Council of Churches' EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel) and Muslim Peacemaker Teams (who also work in Iraq).  Groups that operate on a shoestring can hire more staff to coordinate when they get more donations.

          Reel Bad Arabs: a crash course on Orientalism

          by Rusty Pipes on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 01:53:48 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

        •  i disagree... re related note. (none / 0)

          i don't speak for CPT - so if i have this wrong, please let me know....

          there is nothing stopping jews from creating a JPT (indeed i wouldn't be suprised if it had already been done), and working with CPT.  this is just what happened with the muslim peacemaker team in iraq.

          my understanding is that this work is seen as a response to christ's radical call. the fulltime members commit to (i think) a minimum of 3 years, although some people continue for many more years. the groups are small and  the work is so dangerous that having a common spritual motiviation helps provide support (and i would think prevent burnout) through prayer and spiritual reflection together.

          also, there are other organizations where people can do similar work, we don't need to advocated the undoing of CPT.

          p.s. i should say that i probably wouldn't qualify to join a CPT.... i am sorta agnostic christian who belongs to a UU church. but, that doesn't stop me from being a major admirer of their faith-in-action.

          by selise on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 03:11:04 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

      •  don't forget the Presbyterian peace group (none / 0)

        they are also active with this organization.  

        Unseen Gore Video

        by TeresaInPa on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 09:43:00 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    •  Links to Friends School and Meeting in Ramallah (4.00 / 3)

      The creation of the Ramallah Friends School a century ago led to the establishment of many schools in Ramallah.  There is a long-standing Quaker presence there.  They have recently renovated the Meeting House and expanded its use to include a Friends International Center (FICR).  The Meeting will continue with its commitment to inclusive worship.  Through the programs of the FICR they also offer a more concerted ministry of hospitality and dedicated safe space for a diversity of groups to gather -groups who share the common goals of building a culture of peace and non-violence.

      Ars Oblivionalis: The Art of Forgetting.

      by 8ackgr0und N015e on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 08:46:46 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Recommended (4.00 / 4)


    This story should be told in the world's press...so little is offered on the "other side" of the story in Palestine....or about the ordinary people who want peace and aren't terrorist.

    I read earlier this month, the story of the father of the boy killed by the IDF...whose organs the father donated for transplant to a sick Israeli boy...that also got no mention, in the American press at least.

    Hypocrisy in anything may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it....

    by Cal45 on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 08:33:29 AM PDT

  •  Will the Conservative Bloggers notice? (none / 0)

    with all their demands that "Arab-Moslems" denounce misdeeds of [possible] compatriots or coreligionists, the while resolutely ignoring it when they do?

    Also, is anyone else remembering murdered nuns in Central America and Negroponte in the 1980s?

    "Don't be a janitor on the Death Star!" - Grey Lady Bast (change @ for AT to email)

    by bellatrys on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 09:20:07 AM PDT

  •  Recommended. (none / 0)

    Will the elite be happy living behind gated communities in the potential meltdown? Peace now. -7.00, -2.92

    by mattes on Fri Dec 02, 2005 at 09:44:53 AM PDT

Permalink | 53 comments