Battle for the Minds of Israeli and Palestinian Children

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Thursday March 29, 2007 · 7:23 AM PDT

2007/03/29 · 07:23

It seems that there is a raging battle going on in Israel and Palestine for the minds of their children. This diary should be called, The Battle of the Schoolbooks, since it is all about how to divide this land, fought over now for over 60 years.

The strangest discovery about schoolbooks in Israel and Palestine is that they represent the most extremist viewpoints of the conflict. Israeli schoolbooks show an Israel without any West Bank or Gaza, no Palestinian presence. Palestinian schoolbooks show a Palestine without any Israel. There’s no Green line in discussion here. It is all or nothing.

Jackaloon

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Wednesday March 28, 2007 · 7:07 AM PDT

2007/03/28 · 07:07

America has lost its way as the lead advocate of human rights in the world. The situation in Darfur continues to remain in crisis as aid workers, intending to return to regions of Sudan including Darfur, are now being denied access. What is America doing about it? Whether it is due to CIA involvement with the Sudanese government in the war on terror or the quest for Sudan’s oil, the United States is no longer playing its traditional role as a human rights advocate. Human rights including genocide have been moved to the back burner, while causes more expedient than human lives are pushed into the foreground.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General John Holmes recently called for freedom of movement from the Sudanese government. What is the United States doing to make that happen?

Jackaloon

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Monday March 26, 2007 · 1:48 PM PDT

2007/03/26 · 13:48

In spite of the modernity that seems to have overtaken the well-spoken Western-educated King of Jordan, his country remains mired in antiquated traditions, and none is more loathsome than the honor killing. Honor killings of women in Islamic society appear to derive from far more than just the sexual repressive nature of the culture it molds. It appears to be a special treatment assigned to women suspected of sexual impropriety, even of the most innocent kind. It is obviously rooted in prejudice. There is no known case of an honor killing of a man, who allegedly engaged in sexual acts like adultery or premarital sex or just falling in love, a mild standard that has nonetheless lead to the honor killings of women, but not men.

This report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (IRIN, reprinted in accordance with copyright policy) tells us that woman’s rights in the Middle East has a long, long way to go.

Jackaloon

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Sunday March 25, 2007 · 2:43 PM PDT

2007/03/25 · 14:43

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today reported continuing injuries and deaths from unexploded cluster bombs in southern Lebanon. If recalled, southern Lebanon was blanketed with cluster bombs in the closing days of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. These cluster bombs caused not only economic hardship from the inability to use contaminated farmlands, but injuries and death from unexploded bomblets as those seen below. Over one thousand Lebanese lives, mostly from the Shiite community, were lost. Along with the southern Lebanese infrastructure, this invasion may turn out to be one of the most useless and wasteful military adventures that Israel, in collaboration with the Bush administration, has undertaken.

Once again, civilians have proven to be no match for a modern military force armed with the latest weapons provided by the United States. 80% of the Lebanese dead were ordinary people. The count of maimed and wounded is unknown.

Jackaloon

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Saturday March 24, 2007 · 2:22 PM PDT

2007/03/24 · 14:22

Two reports from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs show more house demolitions in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian side says the intent is to displace the Arab residents.

Jackaloon

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Friday March 23, 2007 · 1:04 PM PDT

2007/03/23 · 13:04

........FOR PEACE. Yes. Israeli and Palestinian women are tired of continued conflict. The Coalition of Women for Peace, an Israeli organization that cooperates with Palestinian counterparts to bring women together to fight for peace. These women have united and see their causes as one. An example of that closeness is the woman in this picture. An Israeli woman wearing the mask of an Arab woman intended to signal unity.

Jackaloon

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Thursday March 22, 2007 · 12:21 PM PDT

2007/03/22 · 12:21

Hearing this news is appalling. This country and others are mounting a drive to fund refugee camps and humanitarian aid for Darfurians fleeing genocide in Africa. It is a much-needed effort. Yet, America turns around and intentionally contributes to hunger and malnutrition among children in the Palestine territories, the West Bank and Gaza. This starvation campaign is part of the punishment that the US, Israel, and the EU have imposed on the Palestinians. The reason? They failed to democratically elect the government we wanted.

Organizations like the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other UN agencies have been reporting malnutrition, deficient protein levels, and related deleterious effects in Palestinian children for some time. This latest report from the IRIN indicates the starvation campaign is continuing.

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Battle for the Minds of Israeli and Palestinian Children

UN workers denied access to Darfur

Honor killings still tolerated in Jordan

Latest UN Report: Cluster bombs in Lebanon

Evictions continue in East Jerusalem

Israeli and Palestinian women campaign together

One third of Palestinians ‘food insecure’