(Photo: Thomas L. Miles / NLN)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — July 7, 2010. Supporters of Staten Island’s Midland Beach mosque, attacked by elements of the community and islamaphobic activists, gathered on Wednesday 7 July in front of Borough Hall. Muslim and non Muslim supporters of the mosque, including a diverse group of local clergy, members of Peace Action Staten Island, and representatives of the Island’s thirty thousand strong Muslim American community, met to call on local officials to defend religious liberty for all Islanders.

(Photo: Thomas L. Miles / NLN)

While temperatures over one hundred subdued the gathering, several dozen leaders, activists, and community members sheltered in the shade of Staten Island’s government center. Hesham El-Meligy, a longtime interfaith community organizer, spoke on behalf of several groups, and announced the formation of Staten Island’s first inclusive Muslim community council, the Islamic Civic Association.

(Photo: Thomas L. Miles / NLN)

Some members of the gathering expressed disappointment with the commercial press’s sensationalist and divisive coverage of the Midland Beach mosque, portraying the Muslim community as outsiders and insensitive to local concerns, and as a conflict strictly between Muslims and non-Muslims. In an attempt to counter this, we reprint below El-Meligy’s speech in its entirety.

Hesham El-Meligy being interviewed by NY1′s Mara Montalbano
(Photo: Thomas L. Miles / NLN)

Good morning everyone and thank you for being here. My name is Hesham El-Meligy and I am speaking on behalf of the Staten Island Muslim community. I am a founding member of the Building Bridges Coalition of Staten Island and a member of other interfaith and community organizations, such as the Staten Island Clergy Leadership and the Staten Island Immigrants Council. I lived on Staten Island for more than 10 years and been trying to build bridges of understanding and respect. Other Staten Island Muslim leaders and myself spoke at Churches, Synagogues and Temples in different occasions about Islam & Muslims. We shared in many events with others of different faiths, ethnicities, and backgrounds. In spite of all that, I found out that some on Staten Island do not even know that there are Muslims here. I found out that stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam and Muslims is still rampant within some circles. I know Muslim families who lived on Staten Island since the sixties. In the past few years, the Muslim population of Staten Island doubled and maybe even tripled. Though the census results are not out yet, an estimate of the Staten Island Muslim population ranges between 25,000 and 35,000. 10 percent or more of Staten Island’s medical doctors are Muslim. Muslim owned businesses are everywhere. There are only 5 Mosques to serve this growing population and all are located above the highway on the North shore, while Muslims live everywhere on the Island, from Tottenville to Saint George, and from Midland Beach to Travis. The reaction to the sale of the convent hurts us. We are Staten Islanders. We have the right to have a house of worship anywhere of our choosing according to the law of the land. We don’t want a privilege that no one else has; we just won’t accept being treated as second class. I am a Muslim by choice, no one is forcing me to anything and I am proud to be a Staten Island Muslim. I am proud of the true teachings of Islam as found in the Quran and the example of Prophet Muhammad {peace be upon him} and all other prophets sent by God. The name of God in Arabic is Allah. Jewish and Christian Arabs use that name in worship. In the Arabic version of the book of Genesis, on it’s first page, there are 17 verses and 17 times the name Allah is there. Allah is the creator and the same God worshiped by Jews and Christians. Although it is clear that the true teachings of Islam criminalize any act of terror, there are some who still are trying to link Islam to terror. There are even some who are asking, why Muslims do not come out and condemn terrorism. Well, it has been done on numerous occasions, but maybe another time won’t hurt. Let it be recorded that Muslims in Staten Island, in the City of New York, In the State of New York, and in the United States of America condemn terrorism in any shape or form, whether it carried out by someone who happens to be Muslim or non-Muslim, whether it is done by an individual or a group or a country. I take the chance today and announce the establishment of the Islamic Civic Association of Staten Island; an organization that will provide services to the growing Staten Island Muslim community and act as the bridge between them and others. Thank you, may God bless you and may God bless America and our world.

(Photo: Thomas L. Miles / NLN)

The Simple Truth: Tim Sheard’s new novel is a good read…

Review of SLIM TO NONE, A LENNY MOSS MYSTERY, by Timothy Sheard, UAW Local 1981 National Writers Union.

Here’s a page flipper, a murder mystery set in a hospital where the invisible, everyday workers are the key. Written by longtime nurse and writer, Timothy Sheard (www.timsheard.com), we see ‘ordinary people take the stage. Think CSI, but hospital custodians and nurses figure it out, not cops and forsenics. Lenny Moss, a custodian and union steward, is at the center of the action as he and his colleagues take on bosses, ambitious doctors amid corporate downsizing and union busting to figure out who killed a pregnant and beautiful nurse.

Well-written and very down to earth…Lenny and his friends are just as ‘normal’ and quirky as everyone you know and work with. Their practical knowledge, solidarity and smarts solve this confusing case that leads us down all sorts of blind paths with lives on the line.

Just like so many workers who fight the good fight, we learn that Lenny stuck with it because, “He cherished his place in the hospital, the camaraderie with the other workers… Slugging it out in the trenches, that felt right.” Lenny and his friends make it happen and keep it real. When an arrogant doctor says, “You’re not just a simple custodian, are you?”, Lenny replies, ” None of us are simple, doc. All of us have talents and resources you can’t spot just by looking at the uniform.”

Here’s a great read, a complicated mystery, good friends, comradeship in hard times, and union workers shown in full humanity.

Earl Silbar, former steward, AFSCME 3506, City Colleges of Chicago

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — July 1, 2010. On Thursday, New York’s famed Russian Tea Room hosted Israel’s infamous Tzipi Livni, the former foreign minister who once asserted that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Ironically, Livni spoke about securing peace in the Middle East. The protesters outside the eatery weren’t buying it — they’d prefer to see Tzipi discussing war crimes in the Hague.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

View Photos From The Event…

(Image: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Col. Ann Wright (U.S. Army Ret.)
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On June 9 over 300 people braved a torrential downpour and packed the All Souls Church in Manhattan to hear Ann Wright, a former US Army colonel who resigned in protest against the Iraq war, describe her experiences on the Free Gaza flotilla. She was a passenger on one of the smaller ships – the Challenger. Wright began by explaining that the Free Gaza movement did something remarkable in organizing to collect money for ships and, despite the logistics, got people to risk their lives to travel on those ships. The international coalition of 750 people represented the conscience of the world in saying that “we refuse to let this siege stand.”

The attack on the flotilla took place 70 miles from Gaza in international waters. The Israeli military had been meeting with the Knesset everyday long before the flotilla set sail. By 4 AM on May 31st she could see the approach of large high-speed Zodiac (inflatable) boats. Each held 15 – 20 heavily armed men with their faces covered. The Challenger was carrying 4 members of the German parliament and one member of the Swedish parliament. She could also see that the Zodiacs came up to the Mavi Marmara on both sides and the passengers on the Turkish ship had decided that they were “not going to roll out the red carpet.” People on all the ships had talked about what they would do if they were boarded. They were people of peace, they had come in peace, they had no weapons. The passengers on the Challenger stood along the edge of their boat and said, “You are not welcome. These are international waters. Do not come on board this ship.” The commandos threw stun grenades which produce a loud blasting sound, bright light, and smoke. The result is disorientation. 15 commandos boarded each side of the Challenger. The captain stopped moving forward because a large Israeli naval vessel was in front of the Challenger. Wright pointed out that Israel could have stopped the flotilla non-violently by placing vessels in it’s path but the decision had obviously been made to use violence which cost 9 lives.

Once on board the commandos searched all the passengers and confiscated all electronic and photographic equipment – phones, cameras, and computers. Security cameras were removed from the ships. These items were never returned. A total of over $1 million worth of equipment was stolen from flotilla passengers. This includes the property of journalists and documentary filmmakers and their crews. Everyone’s credit cards were also confiscated and not returned. Between the time the ships were boarded and the time they were taken to an Israeli port all luggage was searched. The passengers, including the press, were made to remain in a kneeling position, handcuffed, on the deck in the sun for many hours. Some were not allowed to use the toilet and were told to urinate on themselves.

Everyone was taken to a newly built prison in the Negev and kept there several days. The journalists were also held for several days. Israel was clearly determined to get their version of the story out first. No consular visits were allowed during the first 24 hours.

“Q: Activists have claimed that during the first few hours after the assault the dying and seriously injured were deliberately denied medical treatment.

A: This is true.

Q: the Israelis state that violence was only used against the passengers on the Mavi Marmara who resisted, Do you agree with this?

A: This is a lie. The Israelis used excessive force and violence on all the boats even when no resistance was offered. Journalists were attacked, some activists were beaten so badly that they needed to be hospitalized when they arrived in Ashdod. An Israeli commando stood on my head with his boot and ground my head into the deck until I screamed. I was handcuffed and a hood was put over my head.”

Mel Frykberg interview with Huwaida Arraf

June 8, 2010 — ipsnews.net

“…there is reason for Israelis and for Jews generally, to think long and hard about the dark Hitler era at this particular time. For the significance of the Gaza Flotilla incident lies not in the questions raised about violations of international law on the high seas, or even about who assaulted who first on the Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, but in the larger questions raised about our common human condition by Israel’s occupation policies and its devastation of Gaza’s civilian population.

If a people who so recently experienced on its own flesh such unspeakable inhumanities cannot muster the moral imagination to understand the injustice and suffering its territorial ambitions and even it’s legitimate security concerns are inflicting on another people, what hope is there for the rest of us?”

Henry Siegelman, National Director of the

American Jewish Congress, 1978 – 1994

June 11, 2010 — Haaretz.com

The passenger/activists learned that the people on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara tried to protect the captain’s cabin and prevent the takeover of the ship for as long as possible. After about 20 minutes the captain stopped this defense and told the passengers not to resist. The IDF members that were roughed-up were given first aid and returned to the military. Weapons taken from them were thrown overboard. People who were shot were refused medical aid from the Israelis on the ship. One of the women in the prison lost her husband on the ship, killed by the IDF. No special consideration was given her as a new widow. After she closed her husband’s eyes she was cuffed and sent on deck to kneel in the sun with the others. Almost all the men on the deck were in their 50s, they were husbands and fathers. They were shot in the head and in the back. 30 bullets were fired into 9 bodies.

Turkey flew 3 chartered planes into Israel to take everyone back to Turkey. The Turkish prisoners refused to leave until all the internationals were released so everyone was flown to Turkey and went home from there.

Wright concluded, piracy, kidnapping, murder, and theft charges will be filed against Israel. This is a movement of “great spirit and conscience” and we must continue to move forward.

Adam Shapiro
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The next speaker was Adam Shapiro, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. He began by asking for a moment of silence for the victims of the massacre. He then announced that they are organizing to have an American ship in the next flotilla. This is not just about delivering humanitarian aid. “We were, very much, intentionally, taking a political act by challenging the blockade itself. Not so much to challenge it and be stopped, but to challenge it and break it.” We were not seeking a provocation – we would have been perfectly happy to get the ships into Gaza. What the Palestinian people want and need most is freedom. That is the basic thing they are denied, their human rights. The political act that we took is a response to the political act that Israel took by creating the blockade. Even before that, the political act of the occupation since 1967 must be challenged if we want Palestinians to live free. The blockade is built on the foundation of a 43 year old occupation. The issue of humanitarian aid is forcing the world to take notice.

“We did change the world this week.” In part due to Israel’s brutal response but also because we were prepared. We got the truth out challenging Israeli lies about what happened. Eyewitnesses eventually got to speak and a film was smuggled out. We showed that Israeli pictures and fake audio recordings and doctored infrared footage were all phony. France, Sweden, Spain, and much of Europe condemned Israel. Obama cancelled a visit with Netanyahu and called the attack “regrettable.

The blockade and the life of Gazans is now an issue before the world. We have to take the next steps. 5 organizations organized the flotilla, many others representing millions of people contributed. It was a global intifada. Israel is not only against the Palestinian people but also against the internationals helping them. We have no ships (Israel has confiscated the ships too) now. The new flotilla will be organized using lessons we learned from this one. Momentum is on our side today, on the side of justice, freedom for Palestinians, and for an end to the siege, blockade, occupation, apartheid, and second class citizenship. But momentum being on our side doesn’t mean that we’re winning. We must raise the funds for an American ship in the next flotilla and we must work on the civil society movement for change, the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign. Israelis supporting BDS will be guilty of a criminal act and citizens from other countries who support BDS will not be allowed into Israel or the West Bank. The cultural boycott has been referred to as “cultural terrorism.” The more we can make this a conflict between Israel and the rest of the world, about Israel as a pariah state and the rest of the world standing up for justice, the faster we will win.

***

A second report organized by Al-Awda and other groups took place on June 17th at the House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn. this report was to be specifically about the violence unleashed by Israel on the Mavi Marmara. The speakers were to be US filmmaker Iara Lee, British political organizer Kevin Ovenden, and Ahmet Unsal, a former member of Turkey’s Parliament. When the meeting was announced a group calling itself the Jewish Community Relations Council organized a rally in Times Square on June 14th to demand that the State Department investigate the invited speakers for “ties to terrorism”. The attempt to deny the American people the right to hear the truths that the Mavi Marmara passengers have to share with them was shamelessly supported by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Representatives Jerry Nadler, Anthony Weiner, Carolyn Mahoney, Charles Rangel, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, all at the Times Square rally. The censorship campaign yielded results. Ahmet Unsal was not allowed into the country even though he has been here several times. It was also announced that 500 people would be picketing outside the House of the Lord Church – less than a dozen showed up. But inside the church there were 200+ people who came to hear the report and see the film made by Iara Lee.

Rev. Herbert Daughtry, who hosted the forum
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Rev. Herbert Daughtry opened the meeting welcoming everyone to his church. He said he supported this cause because he believes in a God who is concerned about the oppressed, not the oppressor and who works for the exploited, not the exploiter. His church has always been about the struggle for freedom, liberation, and a better life. Last summer the church hosted the sendoff of the Viva Palestina convoy bringing aid to Gaza. This is the church where President Aristide came when he was trying to get back to Haiti and where Winnie Mandela spoke when working to defeat apartheid in South Africa. If you are feeling a spirit of continuing the struggle to help Palestine, you are feeling the spirits of freedom fighters in this church, he said. Noting that he has reached his 80th year he said that as his sun goes down in the western sky let the record show that “I’ve been consistent.” It was very unusual for a Black Pentecostal minister to be walking the streets of Belfast when Bobby Sands was dying in prison. Wherever there are human beings suffering on this globe, “that is where I want to be.”

Bill Doar of Al-Awda was the next speaker and he addressed what he called the new McCarthyism, the attempt to label anyone who opposes Israeli apartheid and sending US arms to Israel a terrorist. Liberal Democrats are taking the lead and doing the work of right wing Republicans. “They’re acting like fascists.” Voices of witness to the crimes on the Mavi Marmara will not be silenced. “They risked all to bring life to the people of Gaza and they were murdered in cold blood – shot in the head by a gang of heartless killers who, I’m sorry to say, were paid by our tax dollars.” The politicians who spoke at the rally were walking in the footsteps of Joe McCarthy while supporting every act of terror by the apartheid state against the native people of Palestine. Their hands are “dripping with blood.” They represent not only the Zionist forces but the powerful military-industrial complex who forever wants to see the Islamic world, Africa, Asia, and Latin America ground down and divided. The struggle for Gaza is the front line in the struggle for all of humanity. “And that is why the ships will keep coming” from all over. “The spirit of Rachel Corrie lives on in that ship” that carried her name.

Charles Barron
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

City Councilmember Charles Barron, referred to as “an elected freedom fighter” then spoke of a discussion he had with a rabbi who was critical of his support for Palestine. Barron told him that over the 22 days of Operation Cast Lead (Dec. ’08 – Jan. ’09) 1,400 Gazans were killed, including almost 400 children, and 2,200 homes, hospitals, and schools were destroyed, Gaza has been set-up to be a death camp. Jews have no monopoly on suffering. He concluded, “We only go around once in life so we might as well live it with some spine.”

Kevin Ovenden, who was on the Turkish ship spoke next. He said that the movement had grown but at a terrible price – 9 brothers were taken from us and very many more were hurt by gunshots to the head, abdomen, and limbs. “Their blood is now lapping on the shores of Gaza.” Brothers were shot standing near him and there were no commandos in the area. It is unthinkable to maintain that the people that shot those guns from above were threatened by those standing around him. That was a “complete and utter lie.” It was also a lie to label the shooting death of one man, a photographer holding a camera, who was shot with high velocity bullets in the head, self-defense. The people who were on the flotilla and their supporters are collecting evidence and will be taking legal action in many jurisdictions. Justice will not be denied. Now the question is not if the siege will be lifted but how rapidly. “We are not afraid today.” He compared the Free Gaza movement to the US civil rights movement. The murders of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner that hot summer in Mississippi created a major push forward for the movement for racial equality in the US.

There is a backlash in the press and from Israel condemning the flotilla. We all have to work to refute the charge that what happened on that ship was the fault of the passengers. The commandos were not facing a “lynch mob.” In all legal codes and in religious and moral teachings “victims of lethal violence have an absolute right to defend themselves.” To paraphrase Malcolm X, “We didn’t land on Israel, Israel landed on us.”

Ovenden urged the audience to remember Soweto, Sharpeville, and the murder of Stephen Biko, when apartheid seemed invincible. It was defeated and Nelson Mandela walked free. Public opinion is changing. Israel’s political capital has diminished. Nobody thinks of it as a social democratic paradise anymore. He then enumerated the tasks before the movement and they were in total agreement with the plan laid out by Adam Shapiro days earlier, more boats and more focus on the BDS campaign. He said that a Viva Palestina convoy, the biggest yet, will be leaving London in mid-September, going through Europe to the Middle East, and entering Gaza through Rafah. Simultaneously, a large new flotilla will be sailing through the North Atlantic into the Mediterranean and on to Gaza. The different interlocking elements in this struggle will all work together and reinforce each other.

Ovenden ended by quoting Patty Pierce, an Irishman who spoke in New York on the eve of WW1, “There can be no peace between truth and falsehood, between tyranny and justice, between freedom and oppression. There can only be eternal struggle between them until justice is won and freedom prevails.” This is what we need now. Without justice and freedom there will be no peace in Palestine. If there is no peace there, there will be no peace in the Middle East and in the rest of the world.

Iara Lee, a filmmaker and human rights activist who successfully hid her film of what happened on the Mavi Marmara when the commandos landed spoke next. She said she was appalled by what she saw in Gaza when she visited there last March. The infrastructure was destroyed, people had severe burns on their flesh from the use of white phosphorous against them, and fishermen were being shot at when they tried to fish. She supported the flotilla because she saw it as a way to resist what was being done to the people of Gaza. She and her crew interviewed many on the Mavi Marmara and she kept the camera rolling when they were attacked to provide evidence of how people were massacred. She said that many people took pictures and tried to hide them from the Israelis, but she was the only one who succeeded.

She played a portion of the film for those assembled. It showed blood splattered on the walls, people injured and bleeding being carried below deck by their fellow passengers with many making efforts to stop the bleeding. People were rushing around trying to give first aid. Others seemed to be bleeding so profusely that their fellow passengers didn’t seem to be able to do anything to help them. A helicopter could be seen hovering just above the deck with bright lights shining down on the ship. There were red laser marks on the deck that came from weapon guidance systems seemingly coming from the helicopter. A booklet taken from one of the Israeli commandos, written in Hebrew, had pages that had the names of the different flotilla ships on them along with photos of people. Were they photos of certain passengers? One can only speculate. Someone was walking around with a big sign stating that they were not armed. The film was going to be shown at the UN the next day.

There were several other speakers including Lamis Deek of Al-Awda who said that the Palestinian people want one democratic state in all of Palestine. Jews are welcome to live there as long as they dismantle the Zionist laws and institutions because Zionism = Jewish supremacy.

Danny Meyers
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Messages of solidarity were read from several organizations. Danny Meyers of the National Lawyers Guild said that seeing the helicopter full of armed soldiers descend on the ship reminded him of Attica when helicopters dropped gas that led to the indiscriminate killing of innocents. Sara Flounders, speaking for the International Action Center, said that a tipping point in the struggle had been reached. It is a moment that comes after many years of resistance and struggle. “We salute that tonight.” Strong solidarity messages were also read from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the Gabriela Movement.

Noor Elashi
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

There was a lengthy Q and A and Comments session. One person was anxious to start fundraising to get an American ship in the next flotilla and suggested calling it the Audacity of Hope. Noor Elashi, whose father is a political prisoner in a federal prison in Illinois spoke of how the “international solidarity bravery” shown by the flotilla gave him peace of mind, and someone likened Israeli behavior to Nazi behavior. Ovenden disagreed. He said Israel was acting like a typical European settler state using the same techniques used by the French in Indochina and the British all over, police domination, systematic racism, and dehumanization.

Between the 2 meetings presenting reports from the Free Gaza flotilla almost 600 people came to listen, to learn, and to support. Shapiro and Ovenden were in complete agreement on the issues of future goals and strategy. This world-wide movement of true international solidarity is reminiscent of what happened in Spain during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 when volunteers came from all over to protect a democratic Spain from fascism. Israeli violence will not stop this movement. When asked if the use of extreme force would prevent future Free Gaza boats from trying to reach Gaza Huwaita Arraf answered, “Quite the opposite actually. We have been inundated with people from all over the world, from various organizations, wanting to participate in future flotillas. People everywhere are outraged by Israel’s behavior. More boats and bigger flotillas until we break the siege on Gaza completely. We’ll be back.” (Frykberg interview with Arraf, ipsnews.net, 6/8/10)

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — June 16, 2010. On Wednesday, June 16, thousands of people showed up at New York’s City Hall to protest the a number of serious city and state budget cuts. Public school teachers, PTAs and students showed up in large numbers. They spoke about schools facing giant service cuts while less than a week ago the news media reported that the top officials in the Department of Education’s headquarters at Tweed Hall gave themselves very extravagant pay raises.

Union leaders and elected officials held the Mayor responsible for the proposed cuts.

Steve Cassidy, of the Firefighters union said “Bloomberg wants us to pay for his mistakes”.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Unions turnout was high. There were crowds of union faithful from the UFT, DC37, AFSCME, Teamesters, TWU Local 100, CWA 1180, SEIU/1199, DC 237 City Housing workers, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the Uniformed Firefighters Association, the Professional Staff Congress from the CUNY system, the NY State Nurses Association, and the American Federation of Musicians Local 802. Lively music for the event was provided by Local 802. There were contingents of IBEW members, Lifeguards, and other unions. Norman Seabrook of the COBA, Corrections Officers Benevolent Association, and Pat Lynch of the PBA spoke at the rally. The rally was endorsed by the Central Labor Council. UFT president Michael Mulgrew hosted the event.

The protest was also sponsored by the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the NAACP, the NY Labor and Religion Coalition, NY Charter Protection Association, La Fuenta, and many other organizations.

Mayor Bloomberg has proposed severe cuts to schools which include elimination of many assistant teachers even in special education classes. He wants the elimination of many school nurses, maintainance workers, and after school and weekend test prep programs. He has repeatedly cut back on the fire department and looks to close firehouses in this crowded city. Aditional cuts may affect the departments of buildings, parks, health, and sanitation. Bloomberg has laid off many city workers and announced plans to lay off many more. In the MTA, hundreds have been laid off recently while the subway stations are desperately in need of cleaning, painting, and major repairs. Speakers spoke about too many service cuts to list.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Over the past 30 years many city departments have privatized large sections of their agencies. Speakers reported that when this was done the politicians said that the city would save money because the private organizations would have lower labor costs. In reality it boiled down to union busting. Often private organizations had much lower labor cost but very high salary and expenses for the owners of the agencies. Speakers reported that the mayor wants to increase privatization and has been hiring more and more consultants to work in the city departments. Often, consultants are paid many times the salary of city employees doing the same job. Many economic studies show that the mayor’s plans will not save money for the city services — however the money may be going to businesses that the mayor likes. The meals on wheels programs would work this way. As the small not for profit charity groups get pushed out of the food delivery service, the mayor wants to replace them with a large business that will make a profit delivering thousands of lunches a day. Bloomberg is also cutting funds for the private agencies. He has announced his intention to completely close the contracts of over 50 senior centers and possibly closing another 75. He wants to eliminate many programs for seniors and the handicapped — including drastic cuts to Access a Ride, cuts to homeless shelters, and preschools.

Many private agencies, such as food pantries and over 260 homeless shelters were started by citizen’s groups because the government was not providing these necessary services. In recent years the number of people using these facilities has skyrocketed. In 2008, every month brought another record breaking number of people applying to homeless shelters. Bloomberg wants to cut money or the help that these groups have started to receive from the government.

The state and city are planning cuts of over one hundred million dollars to the CUNY colleges. The CUNY system has already cut the number of freshmen applications for next year. The SUNY system is also being drastically cut.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Speakers stressed that citizens must fight back against these cuts and urged attendees to call, write and meet with state and city officials. Speakers said to contact our city council members as soon as possible as the next step. Additionally, several speakers urged concerned persons to contact the governor, at 518.474.8390, and state senators and assembly members.

Comptroller John Liu talked about how in this “Great Recession we are in,” it make no sense to lay off people or privatize or cut necessary services .Public Advocate Di Blasio spoke about we can’t morally close down counseling centers, day care centers after school programs, or many of the other cuts the mayor wants. Manhattan Borough President, Scott Stringer said, ” I am ashamed of what the city is doing” with the lay offs and service cuts. He said the unions have been helping the city by investing in the city but in return the city is turning it’s back on the unions and their families.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

When Mr Bloomberg ran for mayor the first time he promised that he would never spend a single dollar of the taxpayers money on sports stadiums because the city needs to spend the money on schools, and infrastructure. Speakers drew a huge response when they talked about this failed campaign promise.

View Photos From The Event…

Bill Reed, Bud Korotzer and Thomas Good contributed reporting to this article.

“Shame On You McMahon!:
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — June 16, 2010. On Wednesday, activists from Peace Action, MDS, Staten Island’s Muslim community and the Fellowship of Reconciliation were joined by congressional candidate Hank Bardel (Green Party) in a rally outside pro-war Democrat Mike McMahon’s office. McMahon recently referred to opponents of Israel’s blockade of the Gaza ghetto as “supporters of Hamas.” The two dozen protesters called McMahon’s rhetoric reminiscent of McCarthyism and demanded a retraction — calling on the congressman to demonstrate his ability to be reasonable and urging McMahon to put U.S. interests before Israeli interests.

Protesters outside McMahon’s office
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Two dozen protesters turned out Wednesday night for the second rally in two weeks at Congressman Mike McMahon’s New Dorp office. The issue: McMahon’s pro-war voting record and his recent comments calling peace activists “supporters of Hamas.”

Several community leaders spoke at the rally.

Hank Bardel, Green Party candidate for Congress
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Hank Bardel, the Green Party candidate for McMahon’s job, told the crowd that he was the peace candidate — contrasting his position of ending the war now with McMahon’s refusal to use the War Powers Act to force Obama to bring the troops home from Afghanistan.

“We see how he voted,” Bardel said. “We have to elect representatives to Congress who will work for peace.”

“I pledge to the people of the thirteenth Congressional District that if I’m elected I will work to establish a lasting peace and a prosperous economy,” he added.

“The peace movement is for peaceful solutions, not military solutions, to problems. That’s why we don’t support Hamas,” Bardel said.

Peace Action’s Sally Jones
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Sally Jones of Peace Action Staten Island read a new PASI resolution condemning the Israeli raid on the vessel carrying aid to Gaza, calling for an international inquiry into the raid and calling for an immediate end to the blockade of Gaza. The resolution also asked for a just settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Jones asked McMahon to support the resolution.

Muslim activist Hesham El-Meligy spoke about the recent rally held outside McMahon’s office and called McMahon’s subsequent statement — calling the Gazan aid activists “supporters of Hamas” — shameful.

“Who are we kidding here? The people were delivering food, water and toys to the besieged people of Gaza,” said El-Meligy.

Peace Action supports ending the siege of the Gaza ghetto
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Noting that constituents always have differences with elected officials, El-Meligy said that McMahon’s comments were over the top.

“This is shocking from our representative. I’m calling on Congressman McMahon to retract his statement. And we demand to meet with him to give him a chance to explain what he said, what he meant, and we need him to speak on the side of justice, on the side of the besieged people of Gaza.”

Richard Greve said that Israeli blockade is collective punishment, illegal under international law.

Richard Greve (center) called on McMahon to put America first
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

“The reason that we’re here is to tell McMahon, instead of putting Israeli’s interests first, and instead of supporting AIPAC and being an Israeli-Firster, that he put justice ahead of Israel’s violation of international law.”

Greve argued that blind support of Israeli foreign policy is not in the U.S. national interest. He urged McMahon to put his country first, rather than putting Israel first.

“Trying to compound the suffering of innocent people is just not the answer,” said Lloyd Berg, a member of Peace Action, referring to the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Berg spoke about McMahon’s calling peace activists “supporters of Hamas.”

“This thing about, that it means aiding Hamas to criticize [ the government ] — I mean that’s a remnant of the McCarthy age,” Berg said.

Berg described the McCarthy period as one in which people said, ” ‘Oh you’re agreeing with the Communists,’ if you say anything that comes with justice.”

Berg expects more from McMahon.

“Let us hope that he will be more reasonable. And see that it is not the answer to occupy, to starve, to harass, to imprison a whole people,” Berg said.

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — The Council of Senior Centers and Services registered 240 participants at a rally at City Hall. The rally was called to urge the mayor not to use the economic fiasco that is New York City as a pretext for cutting services for seniors. Was Bloomberg listening? It’s difficult to say but the seniors were loud and proud — and they are watching the mayor’s every move.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

They came in small vans and via public transportation. Many couldn’t come as they were very elderly or house bound. Those who did make the journey were very vocal. Some City Council members spoke on behalf of the seniors – but it was the seniors themselves who spoke with the greatest gusto.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The rally ended with protesters pointing their fingers at City Hall and chanting “We are watching you.”

NLN photographer Bud Korotzer was there and captured the event. Bud contributed reporting to this article.

View Photos From The Event…

Mike McMahon — Self-Hating Democrat?

In 2008 Mike had a simple platform: “Come On Democrats!”
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

In 2008, when he was running for Congress, Mike McMahon had a simple platform: “Come On Democrats! We can win this!” Elected during the Obama landslide, Mike had courted the progressive vote during his campaign. He later described himself as a “centrist” — while courting the Conservative Party. In 2010, facing re-election, Mike began describing himself as “an independent.”

Mike is worried about the well being of his constituents and won’t waste their tax money on health care.
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Mike McMahon voted against health care reform and steadfastly opposed a public option. He refused to even discuss a single payer system. Critics charged that he was serving the interests of the insurance companies. Mike says, “No way – come on Democrats!”

Mike is worried about stability
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Mike McMahon voted to continue the bloody stalemate in Afghanistan. The presence of U.S. troops helps the Taliban recruit but Mike feels removing the troops would make the region “unstable.” Although he never served in the military, Mike likes to honor veterans every chance he gets. Mike loves veterans which is why he wants to keep them in a war zone indefinitely.

Mike is concerned for women’s rights
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Mike is concerned about women’s rights in Afghanistan which is why he supports the ongoing war. The fact that women are raped and killed in war zones is upsetting but continuing the war means that those women who survive will have some rights. If they aren’t bombed by accident. Mike hasn’t stated his position on the bombing of civilians but it seems safe to assume that he would regard bombing wedding parties as unfortunate.

Mike supports Israel, right or wrong
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Mike is a patriot who loves his country, freedom and the democratic tradition of Free Speech — which is why he recently called peace activists who oppose Israel’s blockade of Gaza “supporters of Hamas.” Although Mike is known for his eloquence and “bipartisan” approach — Mike is proud to be a “centrist” — he is also passionate about his love of country. Which is why he supports Israel, right or wrong.

Mike McMahon — Self-Hating Democrat?
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Mike represents a conservative district. But he is resolute, courageous and flexible. He appealed to progressives during his 2008 campaign. Once elected, he became a “bipartisan” centrist who wooed the Conservative Party. Critics might call this opportunism and label Mike a “boll weevil,” a “blue-dog,” or perhaps even a “self-hating Democrat.”

But never fear, Mike is no self-hating Democrat and he hasn’t abandoned his base. He’s an independent! Sure, he hasn’t had much to say to progressives of late but he won’t forget us. It’s election time.

“Come On, Democrats! We can win this!”

Art by The Ferry III
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It almost didn’t happen. But thanks to the intervention of Community Board One, Art By The Ferry’s exhibition of local art works did open to the public.

Artists v. developers?
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

The third annual Art By The Ferry event spanned two weekends — June 5,6 and June 12,13 — and ran along Bay Street from the Staten Island Yankees stadium to the Everything Goes Cafe opposite Tompkinsville Park. The event featured spoken word and performance art, visual arts, music and crafts. And all of it was free. But the exhibition of juried art set up in the Lighthouse Plaza art gallery almost didn’t happen.

The exhibit was located next to the ferry terminal
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

On Friday, June 4, the Fire Department of New York inspected the art gallery, next to the St. George ferry terminal, and said all was well. But on opening day, Saturday, June 5, city inspectors showed up and shut down the exhibit, citing a regulation that required the exhibitors to have four fire marshals in place. Exhibitors questioned the need for four fire fighters in a one floor, one room building, fully staffed by volunteers — with easy access. The ensuing discussion briefly grew heated.

Photographer John Skelson documented the conflict
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Local photographer and print maker John Skelson videotaped the exchange between inspectors and exhibitors — these videos are available on YouTube. Skelson later told NLN that some in the artist community theorize that local developers don’t want the space utilized by the public — it is prime real estate. Unfortunately the buildings in Lighthouse Plaza are in a state of disrepair and one structure has a tree growing out of the second floor. Like West Brighton’s Smith Infirmary and the historic New York Farm Colony on Brielle Avenue, the structures are crumbling, dying a slow death from neglect. Using the buildings for museum space seems in keeping with their historic status — but not everyone is invested in this approach and the slow decay continues. The battle over the art gallery may indeed be one front in the struggle between developers and community members, including the artist community.

Historic buildings in disrepair — a symptom of overdevelopment?
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

In the end, the artists delined to roll over. After some phone calls to Community Board One, the exhibit re-opened, the following week. NLN photographer Thomas Good was there to capture some of the sprawling event.

The City shut down the art installation…
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

..but the exhibit re-opened

(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

ORLANDO, Fla. — In combination with fellow House of Representatives members including Ron Paul, Walter Jones, Dennis Kucinich, Lynne Woolsey, Barbara Lee, and John Conyers, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) on May 21st introduced a bill entitled “The War Is Making You Poor Act.” If passed, this legislation would stop funding for the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan and use those revenues to eliminate federal taxes on the the first $35,000 of income, or $70,000 for couples.

According to information provided by the office of Rep. Grayson, more than $159,000,000,000 will be allocated in the federal budget to pay for continued occupation and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. If this line item was eliminated, it would not only provide the proposed tax break, it would reduce the federal deficit by more than $15 billion.

Instead of continuing to pay for these wars, Rep. Grayson advocates these funds be used for public education, infrastructure, and personal mortgage relief. If these sound like good ideas to you, his office proposes that you contact your elected officials and urge them to support “The War Is Making You Poor Act.”

A petition has also been generated to support this measure, which has collected over 45,000 signatures at this point.

To sign the petition,go to http:www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com

Grand Marshals Dr. Katie Cumisky and Ms. Robin Garver
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — June 5, 2010. The yellow banner that stretched across the roadway said it all: “Standing On The Side Of Love” — underscoring the point were this year’s LGBT Pride Parade Grand Marshals: Katie Cumiskey and Robin Garver. Katie and Robin were married in Canada in 2006.

Pride!
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

The sixth annual Staten Island LGBT Pride parade was held on Saturday, June 5. Forming up outside the St. George library, the marchers included a number of civic groups devoted to teaching tolerance and LBGT pride: The Staten Island Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center; Community Health Action of Staten Island; Staten Island Stonewall; Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the Metropolitan Community Church of New York, the Unitarian Church of Staten Island, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the High School Gay and Straight Alliance, Curtis High School Warriors, a contingent from the College of Staten Island, Miss Richmond County, the Staten Island Democratic Association, the Young Democrats of Richmond County, and Peace Action of Staten Island.

City Council member Debi Rose and Assembly member Matt Titone
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Also marching this year were New York City Council member Debi Rose (D, District 49) and New York State Assembly member Matt Titone (D, District 61) — Staten Island’s first African-American elected official and the Island’s first openly gay elected official.

“Tina Turner” gave the crowd a thumbs up
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Driving along the parade route was a young woman wearing a Coast Guard t-shirt. Smiling at onlookers, the Coastie said, “Don’t ask, don’t tell!”

“Don’t ask, don’t tell!”
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Providing a back beat to keep the march moving was the Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps.

The Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps kept things moving
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

The banner of the day had no organizational identification but bore a message that resonated with everyone present: “Standing On The Side Of Love.”

“Standing On The Side Of Love”
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

After the parade, revelers attended a festival at Tompkinsville Park.

View Photos/Videos From The Event…

Click to see the May 27th Protest
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

“It all happened before. A ship sailing to Palestine. Its organizers care not so much about the ship’s arrival. They want to bring world attention to the injustices in Palestine. Live broadcasts from aboard the ship excite and inspire supporters on the shores. The power controlling Palestine in a non-democratic manner, responds in form. It sends soldiers to storm the ship at sea some 20 miles out of Gaza. Passengers fight back using non-lethal means. Troops open fire killing 3, then force the ship to another port, arrest the passengers and deport them. The battle is won, but the campaign is lost. World opinion, and other world powers, turn against the controlling power. Within a few months it decides to cede control of Palestine. The ships name was ‘Europe Exodus 1947′, or in short ‘Exodus’. Now, 63 years later, the tables have fully turned, and Israel’s leaders seem to act every bit as brutally and stupidly as their British predecessors.”

– Assaf Oron, The Only Democracy? 5-29-10

NEW YORK — On May 30, as the Freedom Flotilla carrying 10 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza along with 700 people from 50 countries, sailed towards Gaza Jeff Halper, the Israeli human rights activist, wrote an open letter to his fellow citizens. He asked them to reflect upon how “we and our country arrived at this sorry state – how the ‘light unto nations’ has become one of the most repressive states on earth.” He continues, the flotilla is sailing with several messages. First, lift the illegal siege on Gaza. Civilians should not be attacked militarily or politically, nor can they be collectively punished for the policies of their leaders. Attempting to crush people and force them “to accept being permanently controlled and dominated, which is the thrust of Israeli policy, is both unconscionable and counter-productive.”

Click to see the May 27th Protest
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The second message for Israel and the world is to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The policy should remind Jews of when they suffered through regimes that imposed controlled malnutrition on them. Gaza’s population of 1.5 million souls is living under a “minimal dietary regime.” Dov Weisglass, Sharon’s Chief of Staff said, “We need to make the Palestinians lose weight, but not starve to death.” Instant coffee, fresh meat, rice, beans, spices, honey, chocolate, jam, bananas, coriander, pasts, and many other items are forbidden to Palestinians – Israel considers them luxury items.

Gaza is a man-made disaster zone. Israel destroyed the sewage system so that people have drowned in floods of sewage that has covered whole communities. Raw sewage is draining into the Mediterranean polluting the water where Palestinians fish (they are not allowed out beyond that area). Israel destroyed the only power station there causing long blackouts and having severe effects on hospitals. The people have nowhere to live since 2,400 homes were destroyed in the 2008-09 invasion and Israel isn’t allowing the material necessary to rebuild them into Gaza. The flotilla is carrying tents, steel, concrete, and other building materials to help rebuild.

Halper goes on to tell the Israeli people that they live in a “managed information environment.” The government explanation for everything it does is “security” and that shuts down all debate. Four million Palestinians have lived under an occupation that has deprived them of their most fundamental rights, reduced them to abject poverty, robbed them of their land and their homes (since 1967 Israel has demolished 24,000 Palestinian homes on the West Bank) and, in Gaza, has created the world’s largest outdoor prison.

The Israeli people are living in a “prosperous bubble” and choose not to see Palestinian suffering. “We are doomed to perpetual war and we must become permanent oppressors” if we don’t resist the “self-serving and disempowering statements of the Israeli government. He ends by asking a most important question, “Why, with our history, is it so difficult for us to understand resistance to oppression?”

Click to see the May 27th Protest
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

On May 27th, 4 days before Israel’s attack on the flotilla about 400 New Yorkers called together by Jews Say No, Jewish Voices for Peace, Brooklyn for Peace and several other groups met near the Israeli Consulate on 2nd Avenue and began a very slow procession under leaden skies across 42nd Street. Carrying signs that mostly called upon Israel to end the blockade they chanted “Gaza needs aid – Stop the blockade” and “What do you want? Justice. Where do you want it? In Palestine.” People in the busy streets watched, took photos, and asked questions. The walk ended at Times Square.

Very early in the morning on May 31st Israel did as it said it would – they stopped the flotilla “at any price.” The price was committing an act of piracy in international waters, killing 9 Turkish humanitarian aid workers, and firing 4 bullets at point blank range into the head of 19 year old Furkan Dogan, an American citizen. Many others were seriously wounded. It was an international crime. In 1988, 3 years after the attack on the Italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro when an American passenger, Leon Klinghoffer, was killed Article 3 of the Rome Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation was enacted. It states that “it is an international crime for any person to seize or exercise control over a ship by force, and also a crime to injure or kill any person in the process. The treaty necessarily adopts a strict approach. One cannot attack a ship and then claim self-defense if the people on board resist the unlawful use of violence.” (Yvonne Ridley, From Klinghoffer to the Gaza Flotilla, Counterpunch, 6-2-10)

Israel took pains to see to it that only their version of the event reached the press. They didn’t allow the press anywhere near the people who were on the ships, they confiscated security cameras from the Mavi Marmara and all cameras, photographs, and video recordings, and held the journalists who were on the ships for many days. According to Glenn Greenwald (Salon.com, 6-4-10) the IDF “quickly released an extremely edited video” of their commandos landing on the ship. Juan Cole wrote (quoted by Greenwald in Salon.com, 6-4-10), “Many passengers have now confirmed that they were fired upon even before the commandos had boots on the deck …which provoked an angry reaction and an attack on the commandos.”

In an article by Jonathan Cook (Global Research, 6-2-10) he quotes Haneen Zoubi, an Arab member of the Knesset who was on one of the ships as saying, “Israel had days to plan this operation. They wanted many deaths to terrorise [sic] us and to send a message that no future aid convoys should try to break the siege of Gaza.”

Click to see the June 4th Protest
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The New York Turkish community as well as those in the entire spectrum of the peace and justice community reacted to the attack on the flotilla immediately. The day of the killings several thousand people, some grieving and some furious, converged on Times Square. They carried signs and their flags. They chanted. After about 90 minutes they walked east on 42nd Street to the Israeli Consulate. The streets were full of people in town for the Memorial Day weekend and with sailors from all over the world who were here for Fleet Week. They watched and listened. The next day, June 1st, about 600 people returned to the Israeli Consulate to protest again. And on the following Friday, June 4th, Al-Awda organized yet another rally at Times Square. Then, the group of about 1,000 walked to the Turkish Consulate to deliver flowers and a note thanking Turkey for all that they had done as well as expressing condolences for the terrible loss they had suffered. The group then moved on to the Israeli Consulate to protest again.

Click to see the June 4th Protest
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

On June 5th the final boat in the flotilla, coming from Ireland and christened (with Palestinian olive oil) the Rachel Corrie, after the young American woman murdered by a bulldozer as she was standing in front of a Palestinian home trying to stop it from being demolished, was stopped by the Israeli navy while in international waters. The boarded the boat and towed it to an Israeli port. Israel tried to negotiate a deal – if the Rachel Corrie would come into an Israeli port Israel would deliver the goods to Gaza. The people onboard rejected the deal. Their purpose was to break the illegal blockade because that was the only way to get all the aid to Gaza that Gaza needed and break Israel’s chokehold. They had no interest in being involved in a deal with the criminals creating the crisis.

Click to see the June 4th Protest
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

With the attention of the world on what happened on board the Turkish ship it is very easy to lose one’s focus. The issue is Gaza. While Israel insists there is no humanitarian crisis there and the world turns a blind eye to the situation, every international aid organization from the United Nations to Amnesty International says there is mass unemployment, food insecurity (starvation), and homelessness. On 5-28-10 the Gaza Freedom Movement made the following statement:

“Given the continuing and sustained failure of the international community to enforce its own laws and protect the people of Gaza, we strongly believe that we all, as citizens of the world, have a moral obligation to directly intervene in acts of non-violent civil resistance to uphold international principles. Israeli threats and intimidation will not deter us. We will sail to Gaza again and again and again, until this siege is forever ended and the Palestinian people have free access to the world.”

View Photos From The May 27th Protest…
View Photos From The June 4th Protest…

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — The usual after work large crowd at Union Sq. in NYC got to see some dynamic street theater on June 3rd, the 43rd anniversary of the illegal Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem. The event was organized by Women in Black – Union Square (they hold a vigil on the little island just south of Union Sq. every Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30) and Adalah-NY. A painted cardboard replica of the Israeli Apartheid Wall stood in the center of the square, complete with graffiti, photos of the real wall, and a checkpoint with an Israeli flag. There were several people acting the role of Israeli soldiers who were armed with a cardboard assault rifle (that the NYPD objected to) at the checkpoint. People wearing signs on their backs labeling them as “Farmer”, “Needs Medical Help”, “Student”, or “Respected Elder” stood on the line and were spoken to abusively by the ‘soldiers’. It showed the waits and the frustrations Palestinians must endure while they try to move about. The “Student”, without provocation, was knocked to the ground, handcuffed, and arrested by the Israeli soldiers.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

While the scene was repeatedly played out the Women in Black stood holding their signs decrying the occupation while others distributed informative leaflets. Between acts Dave, an intrepid political troubadour, led the group in singing anti-apartheid and anti-occupation songs. A very substantial mass of people gathered to watch, to discuss, to agree, or to argue. For a brief hour or two Union Square lived up to it’s reputation during the 1930′s and 40′s as an area where the issues of the day were hammered out with sharp political debate

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

View Photos From The Event…

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Joel Kovel
(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On the evening of June 1 the Revolution Bookstore in NYC organized an emergency forum that would help people understand what was behind the brutal attack only hours before on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. The speakers would not only denounce the crime but make clear why it happened, as well as the responsibility of the peace and justice community to oppose it.

The bookstore was filled to capacity and there were people listening in the street through loudspeakers. Andy Zee opened the meeting speaking of the brutal murder of people on the high seas who were bringing humanitarian aid, basic essentials, to people living in the largest prison in the world. When people on the West Bank protested the attack on the flotilla the Israeli military fired a teargas canister into the face of a young American solidarity worker, an art student at Cooper Union, causing many broken facial bones and the loss of an eye. This aggression will not stop the Free Gaza Movement. In fact, another flotilla is being organized now in Italy. Several ships are already in the water.

The first speaker was Adam Shapiro, human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement. He began by asking for a moment of silence for the victims of the flotilla attack and for the 6 people that were killed in Gaza that day. He explained that his wife was on one of the boats in the flotilla and she called him as the ships were being attacked. She could see the commandos landing on the Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, she heard weapons being fired, saw flashes of bright light, and shortly after that the IDF landed on her boat. All we know so far is that all the ships were taken. We don’t know who was killed or wounded. No facts are coming from Israel. Governments all over the world are reacting strongly, diplomatic maneuvers are going on, and there has been fast and harsh condemnation from all over. We have read that Netanyahu has cancelled his planned trip to Washington to speak to Obama. Reliable sources told Shapiro that Obama asked Netanyahu not to come. We, as activists, have to keep focus on the blockade and we believe that “the blockade is teetering.” A flotilla is being organized in Italy but it isn’t ready to go yet. We are looking for a delegation of interfaith leaders. All of the media outlets have asked to be on board the boats. “Israel has dealt itself a defeat,” he said, it has exposed itself to the world. People power will overcome the blockade. If Israel stops ships again they lose. Israel is in a lose-lose position.

Israel is showing itself more and more willing to use brute force. The attack in international waters was premeditated. Israel announced that they would stop the ships using any means necessary. Orders for the commandos to shoot had to have been given in advance. During the massacre in Gaza Israel asked rabbis to talk to their troops and tell them to try to kill Palestinian babies – it would be considered a “mitzvah.” Israel is now using force against not only it’s Arab citizens but against it’s Jewish citizens as well who are part of the human rights movement.

Israel claims that there is no crisis in Gaza, yet Obama said, in his Cairo speech, that there is a crisis there. The subject is not up for debate.

“We will sail again to Gaza.” The ships are a tactic to achieve Palestinian rights and end the blockade. But other tactics will be tried to achieve our goals. More boats will go and Israel may use force again. They will help bring about their own defeat. The flotilla paid a very high price but, in a way, this is a victory. We will use this opportunity to change the world. Always remember the Palestinian people – they are the ones we are working for.

Author and former NY Times journalist, Chris Hedges spoke next. He said that since the first intifada Israel has refused to use non-lethal methods of crowd control against unarmed people, including children. Then they flagrantly manipulate the truth to mask their use of lethal force. What happened on the Turkish boat was premeditated lethal force that was initiated to send a message to future people who might challenge them. Israel has changed. There is now a complete disregard for the diplomacy that the US needs to provide cover for their compliance. They are no longer pretending to work for a 2 state solution. There is no show of rapprochement with the Palestinians. Apartheid is blatant. The 8 ghettos on the West Bank replicate the vast ghetto of Gaza. 40% of the land on the West Bank has already been confiscated, including most of the aquifers. There is no concern for international law. Obama is unable to stop the colonization. The blockade of Gaza has been tightened. Privileged Jews orchestrate misery and poverty in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian middle class is gone. Most live in poverty. There are constant raids using helicopters. Gazans are allowed only a bare subsistence lifestyle to make them feel defeated and end any resistance. But quite the opposite has happened.

Negotiations between Hamas and Israel had been denounced by Al Qaeda. And Al Qaeda will replace Hamas if Hamas leaves or is defeated. Over the past 20 years the racism that was once spread by the marginalized Meir Kahane has become rampant and extreme. Avigdor Lieberman, a major player in the government, expresses the need to eradicate the Arab population in Israel. The democratic facade is gone. Hedges ended by predicting that the establishment of a Palestinian state will most likely come from a force outside the Israeli government, such as the U.N.

Alan Goodman, a writer for Revolution newspaper, spoke next. He explained that he had spent the previous day in front of the Holocaust Museum in NYC carrying a sign that had a quote from Bob Avakian, “After the holocaust the worst thing to happen to Jews is the state of Israel.” Jewish people who were entering or leaving the museum spoke to him. Some thought Israel had flaws. Others asked, didn’t the people on the boats know that Israel would be angry about the flotilla?

He continued, in 1975 Apartheid South Africa was an international pariah. Conditions in the Bantustans were terrible. No world power, including the US, wanted to ally themselves with South Africa. Israel armed the South African regime offering weapons and toxic chemicals in the service of US strategic interests. Change the site to Central America in the 80’s. In Guatemala left guerillas and indigenous peoples were struggling against a US covertly supported reactionary regime. The guerillas and indigenous people were brutally tortured and murdered in great numbers. The most horrific things were done to them. Israel provided planes, boats, and weapons to the regime there. Acting like a US proxy they allowed the US government to look like their hands were clean. Goodman asked, is this what the “shared values” are and the “special relationship” is based on? Israel does the US’s dirtiest work. Jewish people don’t understand that. Knowing the truth can play a legitimate role in undermining Israel’s influence.

Joel Kovel, author of “Overcoming Zionism: Creating a single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine”, began by saying that he disagreed with what Hedges said. “Israel hasn’t changed”, it emerged as a “deformed Jewish state.” Can there be a non-deformed Jewish state? No. A state formed around a religion is toxic and out of control. The Jewish people were never a unified nation, the only thing uniting them is religion and a shared sense of land over millennia. The Jewish religion has a central idea – dispossession and repossession. Driving the Palestinians out of Palestine is an integral part of the religion. Israel is a product of Jewish suffering in the holocaust and the religious idea that the Palestinian land belongs to the Jews. Zionism is the state instrument of force. It was essential to the formation of a Zionist state. Israel was not founded by high-minded people creating a new state. The creation of Israel always, from the beginning, implied ethnic cleansing. Kovel called Israel the “Macbeth of nations” – it craves more and more power and has to keep committing crimes to get and maintain the power. It achieves impunity by sucking up to power and by doing their dirty work. By doing that they can get away with anything, for example the 6-8-67 attack on the USS Liberty. But impunity cannot last – people rise up and say, “no more”. The racist unity is splitting in the Israeli population. The 2 state solution is impossible now and that is good because the 2 state solution would preserve a Jewish state. The proper path would be to build a genuine, universal, democratic society.

The final speaker was Abdeen Jabara, past president of the American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee and human rights activist. He began by asking if the current US economic crisis was due to political contributions to congress? And is the BP crisis due to the oil companies contributing to congress? What about AIPAC, is US support for Israel based on cash flowing into congress from Zionist support groups? Most people answered yes to all 3 questions. US support for Israel, he said, creates a symbiotic relationship. But young Jews are alienated by what Israelis are doing and by AIPAC funding politicians so that they will vote the way Israel wants them to. The US is in a position of dominance in the world and it supports Israel. Israel is under US protection and is fed billions of dollars when the money is needed here in the US.

Israel’s strategy has been to show such force that no one will challenge the state. But Americans have to challenge Israel and US support for Israel. Since being embarrassed on his trip to Israel, and his subsequent criticism of Israel, Vice President Biden has met with Elie Weisel and with 37 Jewish members of congress to smooth ruffled feathers. This is the situation we are currently dealing with.

When the speakers finished their talks Andy Zee spoke to those assembled about the revolutionary mission of the bookstore and their mission in our society. Then he opened to floor to questions and comments. One person noted that while Blacks in the US financially support the Democrats the US supported South Africa because of contention between the US and the USSR. Another noted that Israel was the US representative in the Middle East but Israel is a major nuclear power. If it looked like there would be no more Jewish state, would they use those weapons to destroy the Middle East? Another person said that Seymour Hersh discussed Israel’s nuclear weapons in “The Sampson Option.” One commented on the strained relations between Turkey, an important member of NATO, and Israel. The Turkish people have been increasingly upset by Zionist policies and now 9 Turkish citizens in the Freedom Flotilla have been murdered. Where to from here? Turkey has a very strong and reactionary military – should we be watching for a possible coup? A questioner asked, since Israel serves US imperial needs, why do American Zionists keep giving congress money? Wouldn’t the US protect Israel without the financial contributions? Kovel disagreed. He said there was no unified approach. The neocons are all Zionists but other imperialists are beginning to see that Israel is no longer serving their needs. There is a split in the ruling class. Because Israel has been the US attack dog doesn’t mean that they will always remain so.

The Revolution Bookstore did a very important service in arranging this forum only hours after the Israeli assault on the humanitarian aid flotilla. All speakers made an important contribution – the evening was full of nuggets of real insight that increased the understanding of the listeners, gave ideas on where to go from here (another flotilla is forming!), and, not unimportantly, lifted some spirits. The Revolution Bookstore has come through, as they have on other issues, and filled a void.

View Photos From The Event…

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On Sunday, May 30, Veterans for Peace (Chapter 034) and Friends and Family of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade held their traditional Memorial Day observance along the water at Battery Park in NYC. Their purpose was to remember ALL people who have been killed in our many wars as well as the contributions and the many sacrifices so many have made. Bill Gilson spoke first and said, “Let us pledge to study war no more” at a time when the “peace movement is awash in a sea of self doubt.” He spoke of Mattie Matson, 93 years old, the last surviving member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the NY area, and of Moe Fishman, an internationalist, a humanitarian, and Bill’s “teacher and friend.” All said “Presente.”

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Merle Ratner told those gathered about the struggles of people, both here and in Vietnam, living with the affects of Agent Orange, and those lost because of the chemical. She said that they and their families should have received some compensation from the government and from Dow, Monsanto, and Union Carbide.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Person after person then spoke of the people they lost in war – some dying years later from health challenges the war left them with. One person read the names of all New Yorkers who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another offered a tribute to the peacemakers. He said that as he looked around he saw “the usual suspects” – those willing to devote themselves to peace and justice. “We can’t afford to be discouraged or to let go. The job is too important, today’s children are too important. Our grandkids are too important. Some of us love our country enough to criticize it. Our cause is just.” Pat, a member of the Granny Peace Brigade, held up the pages of the NY Times that showed over 1,000 photographs of the US soldiers killed in Afghanistan. She pointed out that these were our youth, “part of our future, that is dying everyday for an unjust cause.” A young man walked over, took a flower, threw it into the water, and said, this is for my brother who died in Iraq last week. Then he walked away quickly. The final speaker urged everyone to enjoy this day and think about those who can’t. Not only because they are dead or wounded but because “they are poor and oppressed by a corrupt and evil society.”

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

Taps was played very mournfully and everyone slowly walked over to the World War II monument and laid a wreath at the statue of the vicious, aggressive looking eagle in the midst of the giant tablets listing the war dead.

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The Arlington New York State exhibit
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — May 29, 2010. On Saturday, May 29th, Staten Island was home to two exhibits memorializing both soldiers and civlians lost to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a borough where the Memorial Day weekend typically means cookouts and parades, for the past couple of years at Midland Beach it has come to mean so much more. On this weekend, a stretch of sand bordered by a boardwalk and a fishing pier was converted into the sea of crosses, crescents, Stars of David and other religious symbols of faith known as Arlington New York State (ANYS). The ANYS exhibit is a memorial to US military personnel from New York state killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The yearly beach event it is usually done in conjunction with the American Friends Service Committee’s “Eyes Wide Open” display, which is a collection of military boots and civilian shoes tagged with the name of victims.

Religious symbols represent grave markers of military personnel
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

This year, the two displays were joined by the Iraq Memorial to Life – an exhibit in remembrance of the 1.4 million Iraqi civilians killed since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Iraq Memorial consists of thousands of name placards. Some depict Iraqi names. Others are marked simply as “Unknown” – symbolic of the difficulty of documenting the names of deceased civilians during wartime. Austere yet powerful in presentation, it is a poignant reminder of the tragic cost of war on innocent civilian populations.

Remembering the Unknown Civilians
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

As this Memorial Day unfolded, some visitors walked through the exhibits, reading the names and reflecting on the dead. Some lingered on the boardwalk, asking questions of organizers and sharing their thoughts. Others sat quietly and witnessed the exhibits for hours, as if in stunned disbelief. Shaking his head, one such visitor was overhead saying, “I’ll never understand it. What a shame.”

Speakers at the midday press conference included Douglas Mackey from the Fellowship of Reconciliation, City Council member Debi Rose, Salam Talib, an Iraqi journalist and computer engineer who lost his brother in the invasion, Pat Berg from Peace Action Staten Island, local Muslim community organizer Hesham El-Meligy, Elaine Brower from Military Families Speak Out – NYC and MDS Staten Island, activist and Vietnam veteran Bill Johnson, and members of Veterans for Peace. Mackey spoke of the importance of the two exhibits and mission statement of the Iraq Memorial; “because no idea, ideal, or philosophy is superior to a single human life”. Several touched on the need to do all we can to see to it that “we don’t have to do this again next year”.

As Hesham El-Meligy said in his speech; “These soldiers did not want to go to war; they wanted to go to college. They did not want to invade other countries; they wanted to defend their country. These civilians did not want to die in war; they wanted to go to work. They did not want to be bombed; they wanted to feed their families. If these soldiers could speak, they would ask, why? Why did you send us to harm’s way over lies? Why did you make us leave our loved ones to go and kill other’s loved ones?”

A true coalition effort, this years beach exhibition was sponsored by Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS), Military Families Speak Out – NYC, Fellowship of Reconciliation – USA, Peace Action of Staten Island, Veterans for Peace and the American Friends Service Committee.

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(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On May 29, a hot Saturday afternoon, 200 people, part of the Coalition for a New Village Hospital, gathered outside the now closed St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village to demand that a new hospital be opened on the site. The coalition is made up of Westside residents, health care professionals, and community activists. The rally followed a meeting held by Sen. Tom Duane on May 21 that included local elected officials and a panel of “experts” who left the community little hope.

Yetta Kurland, community activist, was the first to address the crowd standing on 7th Avenue and 12th Street. She said, “We cannot let the conversation change from how do we get a hospital to whether or not we need one.” There are reports of overcrowding in the emergency rooms of hospitals on the Eastside. If an outside hospital won’t take over then the community can form a board and hire the staff to run a hospital. There are currently 1.3 million residents of the lower Westside, plus the workers and tourists that come into the area daily, who have no hospital.

Miguel Acevedo, the next speaker, asked, if they have money for a 2nd Avenue subway, why is there no money for a hospital? There has been an additional load of 30% in the emergency rooms at the Eastside hospitals like Bellevue, NYU, and Beth Israel. Downtown Beekman is also very overcrowded. Because there were no preparations for the closing since it was so rushed, former patients do not have access to their health records.

The following speaker was an emergency medical technician, a transgender man, who was treated at St. Vincent’s for many years. Recently they treated his cancer and he is now cancer-free. He said that having to get across town at 14th Street will cost many their lives. He carried with him a photo of a beautiful woman and a small box. The photo was of his wife and the box held her remains. He said she died of a stroke after being turned away from an uptown hospital because she was a lesbian and on Medicaid.

Former St. Vincent’s nurse, Eileen Dunn, said that the lower Westside must have a hospital. St. Vincent’s took care of everyone. What if there was another 9/11? Where would the injured go? She urged those assembled not to vote for anyone who would not demand a hospital for the area.

Dr. David Kauffman said that St. Vincent’s had been mismanaged and that should be investigated. With 1.3 million residents in the area there was not one hospital bed available to them. Bloomberg’s silence has been deafening. St. Vincent’s has been there for 160 years. Mt. Sinai was very interested in taking over, it was a done deal, but after speaking to the Health Commissioner they pulled out. The doctors would return to St. Vincent’s “in a heartbeat.” He also learned that the waits in Eastside emergency rooms has become unbelievably long.

Another community organizer spoke saying that the area has just been zoned for residential housing and the community must demand that it be rezoned as a hospital site again.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

A representative from a Hudson Guild senior organization who came with a group of seniors said that one of their group needed an ambulance during the past week and had to wait over 30 minutes for it to reach her. She passionately added, “We will not die because we don’t have a hospital!” We need a hospital and we need it now.

Many speakers made the point that an urgent care unit will not serve the needs of the community because it will not be able to offer level 1 trauma care, an emergency room, or related intensive care, and the hospital beds needed. St. Vincent’s already offers an infrastructure worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And, because it is in bankruptcy, it’s past debts will be discharged making it possible to buy the property at a greatly reduced price.

The last speaker was Randy Credico who is challenging Charles Schumer in the next senatorial election. He said that if the government has money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they have money for the racist war on drugs, if they have money for arresting minority youth on the streets for doing nothing illegal, then they should have money for a hospital. Wall Street is not too big to fail but St. Vincent’s is.

After the speeches everyone held hands and circled as much of the hospital as they could while chanting, “What do we want? A hospital. When do we want it? Now.”

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(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On May 28, the Friday evening before the long Memorial Day weekend, during the time most people are filling their gas tanks on their way out of the city, a group of 200-300 people surrounded the large BP gas station on the corner of Houston and Lafayette in lower Manhattan. The event was organized by several groups including CodePink NYC to protest the BP oil disaster, the biggest in US history.

A man on the street corner was waving a red flag and shouting, “BP is what capitalism is about.” Many gathered there were wearing costumes, especially mermaid costumes, while others carried bottles of either polluted gulf water (the bottles were labeled) or a black oily substance. The gave out leaflets that said 60,000 barrels of oil a day was spilling into the gulf, an oiled seabird that has been cleaned only survives 6 days after release, in 2009 BP was the #1 distributor of oil to the US military (per Newsweek), BP was fined only $50 million after an oil refinery explosion in 2005 that left 15 dead, the projected cost of the clean-up is $33 million for each day the oil spill continues, and the largest amount that BP will have to pay in fines under current legislation is a total of $75 million.

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The protestors said:

“Today we are bringing our outrage to BP’s doorstep, denouncing this criminal company that ignored crucial safety issues, cut corners, and spent millions lobbying Congress to fight regulations. BP has a sordid history of recklessly pursuing enormous profits at the expense of worker’s lives and the environment, and it’s got to stop.
We want our government to stop protecting BP and instead protect the fishermen, the coastal residents and the wildlife. We want legislation like the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act which would have spiked the maximum liability for oil companies from a pitiful $75 million to $10 billion – making sure that BP paid for this man-made catastrophe to pass!”

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

The protest shut down the station. Police put metal barriers around it so that no cars were able to enter during the two hours that the protestors were there.

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(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

NEW YORK — On May 25 CodePink-NYC and Adalah-NY staged another raucous demonstration in front of two stores in the Ricky’s chain – one on 3rd Avenue and one on East 14th Street in Manhattan. Ricky’s continues to carry the Ahava line of creams and lotions that is manufactured in an occupied West Bank colony using stolen Palestinian mineral resources taken from the area near the Dead Sea. The packaging is dishonestly labeled “Made in Israel.”

About 30 people, some dressed in robes, towels, and shower caps stood outside the store for an hour chanting,

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

“Ahava you can’t hide
We can see your dirty side.”

“Hey Ricky’s, what’s that scent?
Smells like an illegal settlement.”
and

“Don’t shop here for Ahava lotion
Human rights are a better notion.”

(Photo: Bud Korotzer / NLN)

They sang a song written for the boycott by a very talented member of the group and handed out over 600 leaflets explaining the reasons for the boycott. A reporter from Russia Today interviewed Nancy Krikorian from CodePink while a cameraman made a video recording of the event.

The reaction of the East Village residents passing by was excellent. The were smiles, thumbs-up, and thank yous. One man raised his fist into the air and chanted, “From Iraq to Palestine, Occupation is a crime” as he walked by. There were no screamers, no spitters, no dirty looks.

When the group moved on to the 2nd store they walked along crowded 14th St. and through Union Sq. which was packed because of the hour and the beautiful weather. As they handed out leaflets they sang,

“On Ricky’s, what a crime
Ahava steals, you make a dime
Hey Ricky’s, hey Ricky’s”

“Oh Ricky’s, drop that brand
Ahava’s stealin’ people’s land
Hey Ricky’s, hey Ricky’s”

The international boycott will continue to grow. When someone purchases an Ahava product they are buying stolen merchandise. EuroPalestine is bringing a suit against Sephora in France for carrying Ahava products and negotiations continue with stores carrying the brand in the U.S. Justice will prevail.

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Protesters outside Mike McMahon’s Staten Island office
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — June 3, 2010. Congressman Mike McMahon (D, NY-13), normally known for his careful comments, issued a statement Wednesday night in which he compared peace activists to “supporters of Hamas.”

A group of 25 peace activists and members of Staten Island’s Muslim community held a rally outside Congressman Mike McMahon’s office Wednesday night. Gathering at 7 p.m., the activists demanded that McMahon issue a statement condemning Israel’s recent attack on the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” — an attack by Israeli commandos on unarmed peace activists taking humanitarian aid to the Gaza ghetto whose civilian population is suffering under an Israeli military blockade. Nine civilians died in the Israeli assault.

Sally Jones of Peace Action New York State spoke at the rally. Discussing U.S. foreign policy as regards the Israeli commando raid on an unarmed vessel in international waters, she said that, “We should not cover up war crimes. We need to be consistent. We should not be hypocritical.”

Peace Action’s Sally Jones
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

“When something is wrong, it is wrong. And the killing of those aid workers who were delivering aid to people who need it — that was wrong,” she said.

Hesham El-Meligy, a well-known activist in Staten Island’s Muslim community, called on McMahon to act.

“We are calling on our congressman to speak up against this international terrorism. Israel committed a crime in this case,” he said.

CLICK to hear Hesham El-Meligy
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

“We are not protesting the congressman yet because there’s no statement that’s come from him. But it’s been customary that the United States Congress is some kind of an Israel lobby in itself. Almost 80 percent of congresspeople, regardless of what the matter is, support Israel — right or wrong. So we are calling on our congressman to issue a statement condemning this international terrorism and piracy. And we ask that the United States Congress not keep supporting it with money and weapons that keep children hungry and under siege,” El-Meligy said.

The rally ended at 8 p.m. Some time after that McMahon’s office issued a statement that was sent out via the congressman’s e-mail notification list. It has yet to appear on the congressional website. NLN acquired a copy of the statement from Lauren Amendolara, McMahon’s communication director, after seeing it mentioned, but not sourced, on the NY13Watch blog.

MCMAHON STATEMENT ON “VIGIL FOR GAZA CONVOY”

Staten Island, NY – Tonight, Rep. Michael E. McMahon, a Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Europe and Middle East and South Asia Subcommittees, issued the following statement in response to the Vigil for Gaza Convoy, which took place outside his Staten Island district office.

“Just as America protects its borders, Israel – and any other country – has the right to maintain and defend its own borders. Despite what Hamas supporters may be claiming now, Monday’s incident wasn’t about bringing in supplies. [ emphasis added ] It was about provoking Israel, a country whose people have been subject to countless terrorist attacks from Hamas supporters in the Gaza Strip.

“Since Israel instituted its Gaza blockade, these attacks have dramatically decreased, and it is not hard to see how the Israeli government would perceive the flotilla’s actions as a direct confrontation. I fully support a transparent investigation by the Israeli government as to why these deaths occurred.

“Primarily, though, we need to remain focused on what really threatens the shared interests of all democratic countries – a nuclear armed Iran. This is why I believe it is in our country’s best interest to lower tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and encourage diplomacy between Turkey and Israel.”

NY13Watch was critical of McMahon’s comments, saying that “Team McMahon sends along the boss’s statement on the Gaza flotilla and a related vigil which apparently took place outside of his Staten Island office. It wisely avoids anything that his Turkish friends might like very much. We can’t decide what we like best: the part where he implicitly lumps anyone who thinks the flotilla was about delivering aid to Gaza into the “Hamas supporters” category, or the weasely, “hey-look-nuclear-Iran!” closing paragraph. So, we pick on it, but we’d probably come up with something similar if put in his spot.”

A young protester: “Food and toys are not weapons.”
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)

Middle East expert Joel Kovel, author of Overcoming Zionism, told NLN that, “Rep. McMahon’s statement comes straight from the Israeli consulate and contradicts the judgment of the whole civilized world as to this terrible instance of murder on the high seas. Why is it that every other country on earth sees this differently from Israel and the United States? Is this anti-Semitism on a world scale? Or has humanity decided that attacking an unarmed flotilla bringing humanitarian aid to more than a million oppressed and hungry people, more than a half of them children, is unacceptable. Likewise, killing an unarmed US citizen with four shots to the head and one to the chest. Furkan Dogan was 19 years old and a high school student. He was studying in Turkey but a native of New York State. He could have been Rep McMahon’s constituent. Is this the way we take care of our people? What has become of the sovereignty of the United States that its elected officials would obey the orders of a foreign power, not to mention, one this dangerous?”

Devra Morice, an organizer of the rally with Movement for a Democratic Society, told NLN that additional protests are planned now that the congressman has issued a statement defending the Israeli attack.

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