The morning after “Lailat Al Qadr” the death toll in Gaza was approaching its first thousand. I spent the holy night of “Al Qadr,” (The night before the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan is a special night, believed to be the night when the Holy Koran was revealed to the prophet Mohammad) with friends in Ramallah, after participating in the 48K March for Gaza. The march began in Ramallah and went to Qalandia checkpoint. What began as a peaceful event with families with children and even babies in strollers, ended with young Palestinians with gunshot wounds being rushed in ambulances to the local hospital.
Qalandia crossing was fortified and air tight, and the Israeli soldiers stationed were shooting live ammunition at the crowd. As the ambulances were speeding through the crowd I couldn’t help wondering why there is no hospital between Qalandia and Ramallah, a good distance which includes the municipalities of Jerusalem, Al-Bire and Ramallah.
The following night I was scheduled to leave Palestine to return to the US but Israeli forces sealed all the roads from Ramallah to Jerusalem for the night, and they were likely to be sealed the following day as well. At the crack of dawn, when things quieted down, my friend Samer drove me to a checkpoint that he suspected would be open. It was open, albeit for Israelis only, and from there I made my way back to Jerusalem.
COOPERATION WITH THE AUTHORITIES
That evening, as I was preparing to leave for Ben-Gurion airport in Tel-Aviv, people around me were trying to calm me down. “Don’t aggravate them, cooperate and they will be nice,” “why go through all this unnecessary inconvenience?” They were talking about the “Smiling Gestapo,” Israeli security officers at Tel-Aviv airport that go by the squeaky clean name of “Airport Security Division.”
(image taken off of Israel Airport Authority WEBSITE, http://www.iaa.gov.il/Rashat/he-IL/Airports/BenGurion/InformationforTravelers/SecurityInformation/SecurityCheckProcedure/sectionfunctions.htm)
Listening to this I was reminded of Jewish communities under the Nazi regime who believed that if they cooperate and show they are good citizens then all will be well. But the road from cooperation to the concentration camps and then the gas chambers was a direct one. The Nazis would not have been able to kill millions of people if it were not for the naive belief held by the victims, that if one would cooperate and lay low things will be ok. The policies of racist discrimination and humiliation at Ben-Gurion airport, and the policies of ethnic cleansing and murder of Palestinians in Gaza, emanate from the same Zionist ideology. As we have seen over the past seven decades, cooperation and laying low do not make things ok.
It is often said that Hitler was a monster. But hitler was not a monster, and any child will tell you that there are no such things as monsters. There are however many cruel people who get the support and cooperation of others in order to do unspeakable things. Hitler was not unique, the list of vicious, murderous men and women who as leaders of nations committed unspeakable crimes is too long to recount. But none of them could have done it without the cooperation of the victims and society in general.
Cooperation with the Israeli authorities might lead to short term relief but it also validates Israel’s right to terrorize and humiliate Palestinians with our consent, “we” being all people of conscience. Whether we are Palestinian or not, the call of the hour is non-cooperation and resistance against the injustice.
HAMAS IS NOT THE PROBLEM
Today people lay the blame for the violence in Gaza on Hamas, but Israel did not start its assaults on the Gaza Strip when Hamas was established in the late 1980’s. Israel began attacking Gaza when the Gaza Strip was established and populated with refugees in the early 1950’s. Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, are not faced with an option to resist and be killed or live in peace. They are presented with the options of being killed standing up and fighting or being killed sleeping in their beds.
Gaza is being punished because Gaza is a constant reminder to Israel and the world of the original sin of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the creation of a so-called Jewish state. Even though Palestinian resistance has never presented a military threat to Israel, it has always been portrayed as an existential threat to Israel. Moshe Dayan, the famed Israeli general with the eyepatch described this in a speech in April 1956. He spoke in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, an Israeli settlement on the border of the Gaza strip where Israeli tanks park each time there is a ground invasion of Gaza.
“Beyond this border exists an ocean of hatred and a deep desire for vengeance,” Dayan said then. Ironically, when six months later Israel had occupied Gaza and my father was appointed its military governor he said he saw “no hatred or desire for vengeance but a people eager to live and work together for a better future.”
Still, today, Israeli commanders and politicians say pretty much the same: Israel is destined to live by the sword and must strike Gaza whenever possible. Never mind the fact that Palestinians have never posed a military challenge, much less a threat to Israel. After all, Palestinians have never possessed as much as a tank, a war ship or a fighter jet, not to say a regular army.
A THREAT TO ISRAEL’S LEGITIMACY
So why the fear? Why the constant, six-decade-long campaign against Gaza? Because Palestinians in Gaza, more so than anywhere else, pose a threat to Israel’s legitimacy.
Israel is an illegitimate creation, born of the unholy union between racism and colonialism, and the refugees who make up the majority of the population in the Gaza Strip are a constant reminder of this. They are a reminder of the crime of ethnic cleansing upon which Israel was established. The poverty, lack of resources and lack of freedom stand in stark contrast to the abundance, freedom and power that exist in Israel and that rightfully belongs to Palestinians.
Back at Ben-Gurion airport that night, I was told that if I cooperate and plead with the shift supervisor it would make the security screening go faster. When I declined this generous offer I was told they “did not like my attitude” and they proceeded to paste a sticker with the same bar code on my luggage and give me the same treatment Palestinians receive.
“NEVER AGAIN?”
As I write these words, the number of innocents murdered by Israel in Gaza has risen beyond two thousand. Ending the insufferable, brutal and racist regime that was created by the Zionists in Palestine is the call of our time. Criticizing Palestinian resistance is unconscionable. Israel must be subjected to boycott, divestment and sanctions. Israeli diplomats must be sent home in shame. Israeli leaders, and Israeli commanders traveling abroad must fear prosecution. And these measures are to be combined with disobedience, non-cooperation and uncompromising resistance. This and only this will show mothers, fathers and children in Gaza that the world cares and that “Never Again” is more than an empty promise.
Miko Peled 
Reblogged this on nadiaharhash.
I wish God gives me some of your courage , talents and Patience
Right on! The call is now for civil disobedience, assuring media coverage. We Americans will not tolerate the Zionist state, the “special relationship” any longer.
Fantastic position, now if only more people can follow!
some people care
WordPress.com
Miko Peled posted: “The morning after “Lailat Al Qadr” the death toll in Gaza was approaching its first thousand. I spent the holy night of “Al Qadr,” (The night before the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan is a special night, believed to be the night when the Holy Ko”
Cheeky Lady says: “It’s Time To Set The Record Straight”
A creation by powerful families, one in particular, which actually had it’s beginnings some 300 years ago.. These power brokers had designs on the Middle East before most understood the wealth that lay beneath those desert sands.
England, USA and a few more power brokers saw the potential of giving the Zionist, long before the Nazis and the Holocaust claimed so many lives.. (over 25 million, 6 million Jews).. a place to call their own.
Thus, “The Balfour Declaration”
The agreement was that the Jews, soon to be known as Zionists, would do nothing to upset those living there at the time.. Within 20 years hell broke out! And hell has been in the lives of every Palestinian family ever since.. This dangerous move, in 1917, has NOT been good for the USA either! In fact the world is a far more dangerous place today then ever before…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Balfour Declaration ” Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.
“His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur James Balfour
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt: “There was notable opposition to the Declaration in the cabinet of Prime Minister Lloyd George. Lord Curzon warned of the consequences of issuing a deliberately ambiguous statement that would allow the interpretation that a Jewish ‘state’ was envisaged.
Curzon warned the government not to support such a cause that was pregnant with unresolved problems.
Another cabinet member to oppose to the National Home project was Edwin Montagu. The only Jewish member of the Cabinet and Secretary of State for India, Montagu attacked Zionism as a form of nationalism, a “mischievous political creed deviated from Judaism.”
Montagu submitted a memorandum on August 16th 1917 to his fellow cabinet members entitled: ‘The Anti-Semitism of the Present Government’, warning that “you will find a population in Palestine driving out its present inhabitants, taking all the best in the country.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/resources/fact-sheets/205-facts-concerning-the-balfour-declaration
Mr Peled, I praise your goodness, your courage, and your conviction.
Thank you, Miko. Israel needs a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand voices like yours.
Miko – Thank you for your courage and pursuit of justice.
I hope there are more humans like you in this world, then we will all live in peace and harmony. Thank you for the article, very proud of you.
I have profound respect for the work you do, Miko. Thank you for this powerful missive from the front line.
Mr. Peled, I’m a shy Hungarian/American Jew. What can I do here in Chicago to help and support your fantastic effort to do something about Israel’s repression of Palestinians? Isn’t it too late to liberate the Palestinians? In South Africa the blacks were the majority. And they had a Mandela. And the apartheid ended 20 years ago although started about the same time when Israel was founded. Mr. Peled, where do you get your optimism? Don’t forget: people like me have to worry about the NSA putting us on the black list in these days. I hope you’ll write back something encouraging. Thank you for working so hard on saving the dignity of human kind!
Katalin
Dear Katalin, I find optimism in Palestine from my palestinian friends who are committed and refuse to give up. They struggle and get killed yet they don’t surrender, they want freedom and they want justice and they want it wo violence. I belies they will succeed and I will do all theta I can so that they do succeed. I also know that their success is our success, “out” meaning all people of conscience.
Join BDS, support the struggle agains Zionism and for freedom and democracy in Palestine.
thank you.
You have my deepest respect for your display of courage and understanding.
Miko,
The only way we are going to change things in the US is to elect politicians who will stop support for Israel and start supporting the Palestinian cause.
You should run for congress or help us find politicians to support our cause.
You are a brave man to go to Israel and the occupied West Bank and come back safe. You are not the first to be harrassed. they did it to every Jew who stand up for what is right in Palestine.
Nothing will change until we have direct democracy here in the U.S. because the elected politicians have no free will. They are BOUGHT upfront before they are elected.
As long as AIPAC continues to control the Congress and the U.S. Administration, things will go from bad to worse.
Miko, the repression and murder of Palestinians is bad enough but listening to some of their comments on news bulletins etc., Zionism appears to have also corrupted an extremely large proportion of Israelis and driven hate into their hearts and minds.
I can’t imagine what it must be like for you to go back to the country of your birth and see it taken over by people who are so heavily indoctrinated, it’s almost impossible to imagine how it can be reversed. I get the impression even more now that anyone in Israel who speaks out against the cruel and brutal treatment of the Palestinians is immediately looked on with derision and ostracised. To be treated with contempt by your own countrymen when your mission is peace, must be so dispiriting, I admire your courage and determination.
It seems to me that the militant, aggressive side of Zionism must be defeated from the outside before it will have any affect on the policies of the Israeli government, therefore your task and that of others to publicise to the people in the USA and Europe the truth of what happening is even more important. It’s time to take the debate out of the church halls and meeting places and into the main stream by insisting to the broadcasters and the media that they listen to a point of view other than that of the Zionists who have so far had it all their own way.
When you have a moment please read ,he is a person I follow, Jewish , but totally feels the Zionist Have robbed the Palestinians ,imprisioned them, Love Mom xx
Sent from my iPad
Miko,so very pleased to have heard you speak on TV.The Palistines are a people to be praised,aided in every way to regain their freedom,their dignity, their land from the Zionist.Glad also to see the support shown around the world for Palistines .
Many thanks for all your efforts, hope we will see you again soon on TV
Lesley Deacon
Thank you so much for your words and your work.
Thank you for writing and sharing this, Miko. I have reblogged it on my “Musings” blog.
Miko, I am grateful to you for bringing to the forefront the plight of the
Palestinian People as this has been a concern of mine for some time. We
are beginning to see demonstrations around the world against this
barbaric regime that is Israel. We all need to keep up the pressure on our
elected representives to bring about an end to the intolerable suffering of
the Palestinian People.
I am so inspired by Miko,his sister and family.I wish there were more people like you on this planet.
Thank you Miko for your honesty and your determination to spread the truth about Israel and Palestine. I will be attending a protest here in upstate N.Y. against our governor’s trip to Israel in support of it’s right to “defend itself” while he turned down an offer to visit the Palestinians in the West Bank by stating “he didn’t have time for that.” I am hoping to interact with people and spread your message, introduce them to who you are so that this knowledge and honesty can continue to flourish. Education and honesty is key in this problem to ending this problem so once again thank you, thank you thank you for being one of the few who has the courage to spread the light of truth in a world that is cloaked in the darkness that is ignorance.
Hello Miko, would you mind if i try to translate your above written blog into german language? unfortunately there is almost nothing of your brilliant words available here(or i haven`t found it yet). often i`d like to share your words with friends, who are not trained enough to read your issues. And i `d find it quite usefull especially for this country, if more people could read your thoughts and facts about the israeli/palestinian subject.
Please let me know your decision.
regards
Karl Gans
sure, go ahead!
I have been reading about and agonizing over the plight of the Palestinians for 60 years and have never been able to understand my country’s blind support of the Zionists in Israel. i am very grateful for your courage, Miko Peled, It gives me hope that at least my grandchildren will see justice for the Palestinians.
Thank you, Miko Peled, for being a strong and eloquent voice for the Palestinian people.
Now I´m reading. I follow you from Mexico City. My father was a Palestinian who arrived in Mexico in the 1920s. Why is it that after reading your Works I want to cry. I admire your courage. With love Adriana Salman
Big Big Guy Mister Miko Peled . What a universalist man . France is starting to discover him, and I hope he might provide much impact over French people mainly far away from that conflit . Thanks to have made me discover this brain and heart !
I do not have enough words to express my profound sense of awe and appreciation for your courage. I am fascinated by your historical anecdotes. Rarely has one given an insight into the early Zionist mentality from an insider such as your father. I was also captivated by your experience at Ben Gurion. I too have undergone the same treatment but you are the first Israeli I have ever heard of who got the 4th degree. Congratulations Miko! Join the crowd but I must ask you. Did you have to go back into one of the dressing ones as required by the Airport Gestapo to undress all the way to your skivvies and then commanded when you left the dressing “Don’t talk to anyone”?
You’re a very brave and honourable man Mr Peled! Wish there were more of you!!
I just read all comments about your report From the Holocaust… I was very happy to listen to so much beautiful voices around the world that want to help you and Palestine. But suddenly a read a <shlomo Zalman. And i got very sad. My father was a palestinian from Bethlehem who arrived as a child in Mexico around 1910. He was arab not jew and his name was Yusef Salman, a great man. Althouhg he share the same name, only with a diferent ortography. This Shlomo is a cretin who for sure only reads what his government says a "good israelian" must read. I´m very sorry if i´m insulting him but his unhistorical propaganda made me sick. My love to you and to all good people.
El Lunes, 15 de septiembre, 2014 18:29:11, Miko Peled escribió:
WordPress.com Sabine commented: “You’re a very brave and honourable man Mr Peled! Wish there were more of you!!”
The humiliation which you observed at Ben Gurion (and now appear to have experienced yourself as an Israeli), pales next to what one experiences coming from Jordan or Egypt to the Eretz through Rafah and especially the Allenby Bridge crossing.
As a man I don’t particularly appreciate it when my underwear is held up in plain sight by the security personnel so that everyone in line can see it. However, if you are a woman, and that is done to every piece of your wardrobe it isn’t exactly the favorite memory from your Holy Land trip!
Taking a photo for posterity could take some of the edge off of it but the Israelis don’t allow any photographs to be taken. In fact you must shoot off one photo just in case your camera is hiding a WMD.
The worst thing about the experience are the IDF personnel who do not like to hear jokes about the whole procedure. “What?” they rudely snap “is this funny to you? Israel is a nation under rocket attack from its neighbors.”
My wife is a very petite lady and I seriously doubt that a rocket can be hidden in her bra.
BTW there has been zero terrorist attempts from Jordan in over 20 years. After the last one King Hussein actually went to the home of the grieving Israelis apologizing for their loss.
Keep up the great work Miko. We really need to hear from you and others like you.
Miko, thank you for all the historical background information and the respect shown to the Palestinians so long deserved. The whole informed world will be on your side, demanding one democratic state in Palestine. Zionism out.
Israel: 66 years of trying to pound a square peg into a round hole.
Zionists: Short term smart, long term stupid, real stupid.
Dear Monsieur PELED,
We have discovered your commitment by chance, a couple of months ago, on TV, in a hotel room, and you know what? it was really like light in he darkest night.
Sincerity and reality of your experience and explanations brought back hope very strongly in out minds.
Thank you very much for your courage and humanity.
We are a French couple in Paris with two young girls 5 and 6 years old…
We would be very grateful if you could advice us on how we could use part our energy to join in action for peace and friendship between Palestinians and Israelis.
We are very willing to carry out a concrete and positive action in that direction, and if possible, under your supervision.
Our capabilities are the following:
I am an Architect.
I speak French, English and Arabic, and willing to learn any new language if needed.
My wife Nelly speaks French, English, Japanese and Spanish.
She has worked between Paris and Tokyo for several years as public relations
in the diplomatic field.
We also have many friends here in Paris that, we think, would be ready to join.
Of course we would be honored to meet you if you happen to come to Paris. Also, our home will be yours for as long as you would stay in Paris.
We also think that a better diffusion of your website in French speaking countries could be extremely useful. We are ready to participate, at our very modest level, in this effort.
As a first step, we have translated in French your latest post and would be glad if you could review it, or have it reviewed and included in your site, if you think that it is a good idea.
We are ready to translate in French more of your posts, articles, interviews or conferences.
Very respectfully and affectionately.
Antoine and Nelly
Paris
Thanks for, & bravo to your courage, Mr. Peled!!
De l’Holocauste au Massacre de Gaza, en passant par l’Aéroport Ben-Gourion
Par Miko Peled
La nuit d’après « Lailat Al Qadr », le nombre de morts à Gaza avoisinait le millier. J’ai passé la nuit d’ « Al Qadr » (la nuit précédant le dernier Vendredi du mois béni de Ramadan, durant laquelle le Saint Coran aurait été révélé au prophète Mahomet) avec des amis à Ramallah, après avoir participé à la Marche 48K pour Gaza. La Marche partit de Ramallah et se dirigea vers le checkpoint Qalandia. Ce qui avait commencé comme un événement paisible avec familles, enfants, et même bébés en poussettes, se termina avec de jeunes Palestiniens blessés par balles réelles et emmenés dans l’hôpital le plus proche.
Le carrefour Qalandia était fortifié et étouffant, et les soldats israéliens postés là tiraient à balles réelles sur la foule. Alors que les ambulances se frayaient un chemin à travers la foule, je ne pouvais m’empêcher de me demander pourquoi il n’y avait pas d’hôpital entre Qalandia et Ramallah, sur une si longue distance incluant les villes de Jérusalem, Al-Bire et Ramallah.
(Marche K48, Juillet 2014)
La nuit suivante, il était prévu que je quitte la Palestine pour retourner aux Etats-Unis, mais les forces israéliennes avaient fermé toutes les routes de Ramallah à Jérusalem pour la nuit, et il était probable qu’elles resteraient fermées également la nuit suivante. A l’aube, lorsque les choses se sont un peu calmées, mon ami Samer m’a conduit à un checkpoint qu’il supposait être encore ouvert. Il l’était, mais pour les Israéliens seulement, et c’est de ce point que je fis mon chemin jusqu’à Jérusalem.
COOPERATION AVEC LES AUTORITES
Ce soir-là, je me préparais à rejoindre l’Aéroport Ben-Gourion à Tel-Aviv, et mon entourage tentait de me calmer. « Ne les provoque pas. Coopère et ils seront sympas » « Pourquoi compliquer les choses inutilement ? » Ils parlaient de la « Gestapo Souriante », les officiers de la Sécurité de l’Aéroport de Tel-Aviv, qui répondent au nom grinçant et propre de « Service de Sécurité de l’Aéroport ».
(image tirée du site web de l’Aéroport de Tel-Aviv, http://www.iaa.gov.il/Rashat/he-IL/Airports/BenGurion/InformationforTravelers/SecurityInformation/SecurityCheckProcedure/sectionfunctions.htm)
En écoutant les recommandations de mon entourage, cela me rappelait les membres des Communautés juives sous le régime Nazi, qui supposaient que s’ils coopéraient et montraient qu’ils étaient de bons citoyens, tout irait pour le mieux. Mais le chemin entre la coopération et les camps de concentration, puis les chambres à gaz, s’est avéré être le chemin le plus direct. Les Nazis n’auraient jamais pu tuer des millions de personnes, sans la croyance naïve des victimes que tout irait bien si elles coopéraient et se tenaient à carreau. Les règles d’humiliation et de discrimination raciale de l’Aéroport Ben-Gourion, et la politique de nettoyage ethnique et d’assassinat de Palestiniens à Gaza, émanent de la même idéologie Sioniste. Come nous l’avons vécu depuis sept décennies, la coopération et l’attitude de soumission n’a jamais rien amélioré.
Hitler a souvent été comparé à un monstre. Mais Hitler n’était pas un monstre, et n’importe quel enfant vous dira que les monstres n’existent pas. Mais il y a cependant beaucoup de gens cruels qui obtiennent le soutien et la coopération des autres dans le but de commettre des actes inqualifiables. Hitler n’était pas unique. Il serait bien long d’énumérer tous ces autres hommes et femmes, vicieux et criminels, qui, en leur qualité de dirigeants de leurs nations, commettent des crimes inqualifiables. Mais aucun d’entre eux n’aurait pu commettre ces actes sans la coopération de ses victimes et plus généralement de la société elle-même.
Si la coopération avec les autorités israéliennes est plus simple à court-terme, elle justifie également le droit d’Israël à terroriser et à humilier les Palestiniens avec notre accord ; « nous-mêmes » étant des personnes de conscience. Que nous soyons Palestiniens ou pas, l’urgence du moment est bien la non-coopération et la résistance contre l’injustice.
LE HAMAS N’EST PAS LE PROBLEME
Aujourd’hui, la majorité des gens rendent le Hamas responsable de la violence à Gaza. Mais Israël n’a pas attendu la fin des années 80 et la création du Hamas pour attaquer la Bande de Gaza. Israël a commencé ses attaques depuis le début des années 50, au moment même où la Bande de Gaza a été créée et peuplée de réfugiés. Les Palestiniens, particulièrement à Gaza, n’ont pas le choix entre résister et mourir ou vivre en paix. Leur unique alternative est d’être tués debout au combat, ou d’être tués endormis dans leurs lits.
Gaza est punie car Gaza est le rappel permanent à Israël et au monde du péché originel du nettoyage ethnique de la Palestine et de la création de l’état juif. Bien que la Résistance Palestinienne n’ait jamais constitué la moindre menace militaire pour Israël, elle a toujours été présentée comme une menace existentielle pour cet Etat. Dans un discours d’Avril 1956, Moshé Dayan, le fameux général à l’œil bandé, avait très bien décrit ceci. Il parlait depuis le Kibboutz Nahal Oz, une colonie israélienne à la frontière de la Bande de Gaza, là-même où les tanks israéliens stationnent à chacune des invasions de la Bande.
« Il existe, derrière cette ligne », avait-il dit, « un océan de haine et un désir profond de vengeance ». Bien au contraire, six mois plus tard, lorsqu’Israël occupait Gaza, et que mon père en était nommé gouverneur militaire, il dit n’avoir perçu « ni haine, ni désir de vengeance, mais un peuple avide de vivre et de travailler ensemble pour un avenir meilleur ».
Aujourd’hui encore, les chefs militaires et les hommes politiques israéliens disent presque la même chose: Israël doit vivre par le sabre, et doit frapper Gaza chaque fois qu’il est possible de le faire. Aucune importance si les Palestiniens n’ont jamais constitué un quelconque défi militaire, et encore moins une menace pour Israël. Après tout, les Palestiniens n’ont jamais possédé un quelconque tank, navire ou avion de guerre, et a fortiori aucune armée régulière.
UNE MENACE POUR LA LEGITIMITE D’ISRAEL
Alors pourquoi cette peur? Pourquoi cette campagne ininterrompue de soixante années contre Gaza? Tout simplement parce que les Palestiniens de Gaza, plus que nulle part ailleurs, constituent une menace à la légitimité d’Israël.
Israël est une création illégitime, née de l’union impie du racisme et du colonialisme, et les réfugiés qui constituent la majorité de la population de la Bande de Gaza, sont le rappel permanent du nettoyage ethnique criminel sur la base duquel Israël a été créé. La pauvreté, le manque de ressources et le manque de liberté, sont en parfait contraste avec l’abondance, la liberté et le pouvoir qui existent en Israël, et qui devraient appartenir de plein droit aux Palestiniens.
Photo
(Le Camp de réfugiés d’Alshati, à quelques kilomètres seulement d’Ashkelon)
Cette nuit-là, de retour à l’Aéroport Ben-Gourion, on m’a dit que si je coopérais et que je me soumettais à l’agent de sécurité en poste, le contrôle irait bien plus vite. Lorsque je rejetais la généreuse proposition, ils me firent comprendre qu’ils « n’aimaient pas mon attitude », et ils apposèrent sur mes bagages le même code barre que celui des Palestiniens, et me réservèrent le même traitement qu’eux.
« JAMAIS PLUS ? »
Au moment où j’écris ces mots, le nombre d’innocents assassinés à Gaza à dépassé les deux mille. En finir avec l’insupportable régime raciste et brutal créé par le Sionisme en Palestine est l’urgence du moment. Critiquer la Résistance Palestinienne n’est pas raisonnable. Israël doit être soumis au boycott, aux désinvestissements et aux sanctions. Les diplomates israéliens doivent être renvoyés chez eux couverts de honte. Les leaders et les chefs militaires israéliens voyageant à l’étranger devraient craindre les poursuites judiciaires. Et ces mesures devraient être doublées de désobéissance civile, de non-coopération et d’une résistance sans compromission. C’est à ce prix, et à celui-ci seulement, que nous pourrons montrer aux mères, aux pères et aux enfants de Gaza, que « Jamais Plus » est bien plus qu’une vaine promesse.
(Photo)
Jamais plus ?
Texte traduit le 18 Août 2014 par Nelly et Antoine
Thank you Miko for the comments here and elsewhere concerning the oppressive nature of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians. Whenever one talks with others about the State of Israel and their policies towards the Palestinians it is very difficult to even entertain the idea that Israel was created in an act of violence. There is still the narrative that the Jews are always the victims and that the West’s collective guilt should keep us supporting Israel forever. It is because of Jews like Miko that I continue to speak out against the violent and oppressive policies of the State of Israel.
Miko,
I appreciate your courage, determination and efforts to see the birth of a unified secular democracy dismantling the Zionist apartheid state. Indians remember it all and have historically been on the Palestinian side.
Vasu, Bangalore.
Miko I applaud your courage and the great work you are doing to make people aware what is really happening in Israel/Palestine.
Lately world public opinion is beginning at last to tilt in favour of the Palestinians, but while I accept your assertion that Hamas is not the problem, Israel’s demonisation of Hamas remains one of its most effective propaganda weapons. Most recently The Guardian newspaper agreed to publish an advertisement in which Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, likened Hamas to the Nazis who operated the concentration camps and the child-sacrificing worshippers of Moloch. (The object, of course, was to allow Israel to claim that the deaths of civilians during the bombardment of Gaza was the fault of Hamas, and that no responsibility whatsoever attached to the IDF who launched the bombs.) It is significant this ostensibly ‘liberal’ newspaper allows publication of this kind of propaganda, while censoring any poster below the line who even raises the issue of whether Israel’s policies and acts are in any way racist. There are powerful interests here operating behind the scenes that do not wish to see a just settlement, and unfortunately some of the acts of Hamas play into their hands. How is this kind of thing to be countered? I eagerly await the emergence of a Palestinian leadership that cannot be demonised in this way.
Miko, I’m with you all the way. We should make a stand in protest and use non-cooperation and resistance methods against the injustice. I feel for you since your people in particular are also not really free until the Palestinian freedom from oppression is resolved. There is great grief in your writing at there is a sense this is something you seem to carry on your shoulders. Last Saturday on a brief visit to London I proudly joined a few people selling “Free Palestine” bracelets to cricket fans and held high a board with the words “Free Palestine” and “end the occupation” on the other side. So you are not alone WE are with you. Be brave be smart and be safe we need you to guide the rest of us androids into the next generation.
Your side of the story needs to told…
Take care and all the best.
Miko: May God bless you and honestly I wish there are just one thousnd more,same as you, who are decent,honest,and have the courage to speak out and write as well, the General’s Son, which i just comleted reading it. Thank you and keep the good wrok. Ali aburayyan, Amman, Jordan. Aug.20,2014
Reblogged this on amnesiaclinic and commented:
Agreed, this has to be stopped by Americans stopping the arms money going to Israel and civil disobedience.
Thank you for all you are doing. The world id waking up through the efforts of great people like you.
With love
xxxxxx
Just bought your book and can’t wait to read it, also Susan Abulhawa book. For years I was ignorant on this conflict but no more.
Thank you and Free Palestine and all its children, because you and people like you are the true children of Palestine in my eyes.
Take care
I came across this article through the Blog of GWP, and I applaud both your bravery and insight. I simply cannot either understand why the West makes so much noise about Syria, which is not a good situation I agree, but is so hypocritical on the subject of Israel. I have written a couple of pieces about it on my Blog, but not with your directness or courage.
Thank you for your blog. I am living in Ireland and I bought your book and it is so informative. I wanted the facts. I wanted the truth. The newspapers are not to be trusted. When I started hearing about the conflict and the suffering of the Palestinians I was deeply shocked and still am. I am so disappointed in the US for their support of this killing of innocent people. I pray daily for these people and all those suffering in wars in the world. I admire you for speaking out and putting yourself on the line when staying quiet could have made life so much easier for you. I do that too and I also pay the price. I try to speak out when the government cuts services in the name of austerity. I condemn those who smile through dishonest teeth in the name of fairness while they cut money and services to the poorest of the poor in Ireland and cause untold suffering with a health service in tatters and all the money going to prop up failed banks. I too speak out even if it is just on face book and in my every day life because I consider it my duty to do it. I am trying to be a Christian and to put my faith into words and actions that will highlight these wrongs. Its a daily battle. I am half way through your book, The Generals Son. I have told many people about you including my own father who is 80 and my mother who is 77. They have been married nearly 56 years. I gave them documentaries and also You tube videos of you speak. They hear you. I hear you. Keep talking. It reaches the far ends of the earth. Thank you and god bless form Chris in Ireland.
Your comparing of israel to nazi regime is sick, unjust, and insulting to all the jews, dead AND alive.
Nazis attacked jews for no good reason, as scape goats, out of pure unreasonable hate.
Nazis had their own state, yet they invaded other states, in spirit of expansionalism,
just as every arab state in existence today.
In contrast, israel was found on largely EMPTY DESERTED TERRITORY. yes arabs lived there, but therr was PLENTY OF SPACE TO SHARE AND PROSPER TOGETHER.
Arabs had a choice, they could live in peace TOGETHER with jews, on equal terms, and prosper.
For whatever reason, politically fanned hate, based perhaps on quran, arabs decided that the existence of jewish state is an insult to islam (which isn’t true, actually quran itself predicts the rebuilding of jewish state, just as our torah does).
Physically, there was enough space for both jews and arabs, but arab gang violence and their constant attacks on jewish yishuv naturally provoked reprisals from the young secular jews who came to actually SETTLE and build up the land, unlike the old religious yishuv which had no such aspirations.
The old religious jewish settlements in israel (generically called ‘palestine,’, -there was no ‘palestinian’ state as such, just as there was no ‘israeli’ state, the WHOLE area was called ‘palestine’ or israel, interchangeably)
, the old jewish religious yishuv was not interested in building or greatly expanding, or organizing politically, yet they kept being attacked by arab gangs, like for example the infamous 1929 hebron massacre of totally non political rabbinical studens by violent arab gangs.
Arabs had a choice- to stay and cooperate with the secular growth-oriented zionists, and prosper TOGETHER, or to hope to eradicate them, cause the entire project to fail, and mantain the status quo of arab numerical and power dominance.
The arab gamble failed. Jews won, again and again, bcuz they weren’t just fighting a local skirmish, like it probably largely was to arabs…
In jewish eyes, both the local ones, and the world wide jewish diaspora, the success of the settlements in ‘palestine’ represented yearning of thousands of years of religious and cultural yearning of every jew, which is something mr.Peled, as a secular person (without any religious feelings or even any amount of a sense of jewish belonging) does not identify with.
To Mr.Peled, israel is just an address. Not an answer to thousands of years of daily prayers.
So he doesn’t comprehend why the jews from poland, russia, yemen, turkey, hungary, tunisia, france, algeria and other places, would come and fight for the right to LEGALLY call that land their own.
To ‘Miko’ Peled, it wasn’t the ‘holy’ land. It was and is, just a land.
And why would anyone fight for just a land? If it wasn’t anything special, one had, or HAS, no reason to FIGHT for it.
Miko Peled has no national dreams. Miko Peled has no religious dreams. To him, this all struggle makes no sense.
He fails to note that if jews didnt organize and defend themselves, there would be no ‘israel’ as a state. There might be some jewish presence in the area, like in times of ottoman or british mandate.
But it would not inspire jewish pride. It would be prone to whims of the local ruler, either some random arab or british condescending indifferent diplomat.
What we have now is exactly the opposite.
We have a proud jewish state, not without problems, both internal and external, but one which won’t put up with endless attacks on their rightful citizens.
Yes, even if it harms the ‘palestinians’. Israel’s first duty is to degend their state. That’s something mr.Peled fails to take pride in.
Dear Monsieur PELED,
We have discovered your commitment by chance, a couple of months ago, on TV, in a hotel room, and you know what? it was really like light in he darkest night.
Sincerity and reality of your experience and explanations brought back hope very strongly in out minds.
Thank you very much for your courage and humanity.
We are a French couple in Paris with two young girls 5 and 6 years old…
We would be very grateful if you could advice us on how we could use part our energy to join in action for peace and friendship between Palestinians and Israelis.
We are very willing to carry out a concrete and positive action in that direction, and if possible, under your supervision.
Our capabilities are the following:
I am an Architect.
I speak French, English and Arabic, and willing to learn any new language if needed.
My wife Nelly speaks French, English, Japanese and Spanish.
She has worked between Paris and Tokyo for several years as public relations
in the diplomatic field.
We also have many friends here in Paris that, we think, would be ready to join.
Of course we would be honored to meet you if you happen to come to Paris. Also, our home will be yours for as long as you would stay in Paris.
We also think that a better diffusion of your website in French speaking countries could be extremely useful. We are ready to participate, at our very modest level, in this effort.
As a first step, we have translated in French your latest post and would be glad if you could review it, or have it reviewed and included in your site, if you think that it is a good idea.”
We are ready to translate in French more of your posts, articles, interviews or conferences.
Very respectfully and affectionately.
Antoine and Nelly
De l’Holocauste au Massacre de Gaza, en passant par l’Aéroport Ben-Gourion (Part 1)
Par Miko Peled
La nuit d’après « Lailat Al Qadr », le nombre de morts à Gaza avoisinait le millier. J’ai passé la nuit d’ « Al Qadr » (la nuit précédant le dernier Vendredi du mois béni de Ramadan, durant laquelle le Saint Coran aurait été révélé au prophète Mahomet) avec des amis à Ramallah, après avoir participé à la Marche 48K pour Gaza. La Marche partit de Ramallah et se dirigea vers le checkpoint Qalandia. Ce qui avait commencé comme un événement paisible avec familles, enfants, et même bébés en poussettes, se termina avec de jeunes Palestiniens blessés par balles réelles et emmenés dans l’hôpital le plus proche.
Le carrefour Qalandia était fortifié et étouffant, et les soldats israéliens postés là tiraient à balles réelles sur la foule. Alors que les ambulances se frayaient un chemin à travers la foule, je ne pouvais m’empêcher de me demander pourquoi il n’y avait pas d’hôpital entre Qalandia et Ramallah, sur une si longue distance incluant les villes de Jérusalem, Al-Bire et Ramallah.
(image :Marche K48, Juillet 2014)
La nuit suivante, il était prévu que je quitte la Palestine pour retourner aux Etats-Unis, mais les forces israéliennes avaient fermé toutes les routes de Ramallah à Jérusalem pour la nuit, et il était probable qu’elles resteraient fermées également la nuit suivante. A l’aube, lorsque les choses se sont un peu calmées, mon ami Samer m’a conduit à un checkpoint qu’il supposait être encore ouvert. Il l’était, mais pour les Israéliens seulement, et c’est de ce point que je fis mon chemin jusqu’à Jérusalem.
COOPERATION AVEC LES AUTORITES
Ce soir-là, je me préparais à rejoindre l’Aéroport Ben-Gourion à Tel-Aviv, et mon entourage tentait de me calmer. « Ne les provoque pas. Coopère et ils seront sympas » « Pourquoi compliquer les choses inutilement ? » Ils parlaient de la « Gestapo Souriante », les officiers de la Sécurité de l’Aéroport de Tel-Aviv, qui répondent au nom grinçant et propre de « Service de Sécurité de l’Aéroport ».
(image tirée du site web de l’Aéroport de Tel-Aviv, http://www.iaa.gov.il/Rashat/he-IL/Airports/BenGurion/InformationforTravelers/SecurityInformation/SecurityCheckProcedure/sectionfunctions.htm)
En écoutant les recommandations de mon entourage, cela me rappelait les membres des Communautés juives sous le régime Nazi, qui supposaient que s’ils coopéraient et montraient qu’ils étaient de bons citoyens, tout irait pour le mieux. Mais le chemin entre la coopération et les camps de concentration, puis les chambres à gaz, s’est avéré être le chemin le plus direct. Les Nazis n’auraient jamais pu tuer des millions de personnes, sans la croyance naïve des victimes que tout irait bien si elles coopéraient et se tenaient à carreau. Les règles d’humiliation et de discrimination raciale de l’Aéroport Ben-Gourion, et la politique de nettoyage ethnique et d’assassinat de Palestiniens à Gaza, émanent de la même idéologie Sioniste. Come nous l’avons vécu depuis sept décennies, la coopération et l’attitude de soumission n’a jamais rien amélioré.
Hitler a souvent été comparé à un monstre. Mais Hitler n’était pas un monstre, et n’importe quel enfant vous dira que les monstres n’existent pas. Mais il y a cependant beaucoup de gens cruels qui obtiennent le soutien et la coopération des autres dans le but de commettre des actes inqualifiables. Hitler n’était pas unique. Il serait bien long d’énumérer tous ces autres hommes et femmes, vicieux et criminels, qui, en leur qualité de dirigeants de leurs nations, commettent des crimes inqualifiables. Mais aucun d’entre eux n’aurait pu commettre ces actes sans la coopération de ses victimes et plus généralement de la société elle-même.
Si la coopération avec les autorités israéliennes est plus simple à court-terme, elle justifie également le droit d’Israël à terroriser et à humilier les Palestiniens avec notre accord ; « nous-mêmes » étant des personnes de conscience. Que nous soyons Palestiniens ou pas, l’urgence du moment est bien la non-coopération et la résistance contre l’injustice.
LE HAMAS N’EST PAS LE PROBLEME
Aujourd’hui, la majorité des gens rendent le Hamas responsable de la violence à Gaza. Mais Israël n’a pas attendu la fin des années 80 et la création du Hamas pour attaquer la Bande de Gaza. Israël a commencé ses attaques depuis le début des années 50, au moment même où la Bande de Gaza a été créée et peuplée de réfugiés. Les Palestiniens, particulièrement à Gaza, n’ont pas le choix entre résister et mourir ou vivre en paix. Leur unique alternative est d’être tués debout au combat, ou d’être tués endormis dans leurs lits.
Gaza est punie car Gaza est le rappel permanent à Israël et au monde du péché originel du nettoyage ethnique de la Palestine et de la création de l’état juif. Bien que la Résistance Palestinienne n’ait jamais constitué la moindre menace militaire pour Israël, elle a toujours été présentée comme une menace existentielle pour cet Etat. Dans un discours d’Avril 1956, Moshé Dayan, le fameux général à l’œil bandé, avait très bien décrit cela. Il parlait depuis le Kibboutz Nahal Oz, une colonie israélienne à la frontière de la Bande de Gaza, là-même où les tanks israéliens stationnent à chacune des invasions de la Bande.
(image : Moshé Dayan au Kibboutz Nahal Oz)
« Il existe, derrière cette ligne », avait-il dit, « un océan de haine et un désir profond de vengeance ». Bien au contraire, six mois plus tard, lorsqu’Israël occupait Gaza, et que mon père en était nommé gouverneur militaire, il dit n’avoir perçu « ni haine, ni désir de vengeance, mais un peuple avide de vivre et de travailler ensemble pour un avenir meilleur ».
Aujourd’hui encore, les chefs militaires et les hommes politiques israéliens disent presque la même chose: Israël doit vivre par le sabre, et doit frapper Gaza chaque fois qu’il est possible de le faire. Aucune importance si les Palestiniens n’ont jamais constitué un quelconque défi militaire, et encore moins une menace pour Israël. Après tout, les Palestiniens n’ont jamais possédé un quelconque tank, navire ou avion de guerre, et a fortiori aucune armée régulière.
UNE MENACE POUR LA LEGITIMITE D’ISRAEL
Alors pourquoi cette peur? Pourquoi cette campagne ininterrompue de soixante années contre Gaza? Tout simplement parce que les Palestiniens de Gaza, plus que nulle part ailleurs, constituent une menace à la légitimité d’Israël.
Israël est une création illégitime, née de l’union impie du racisme et du colonialisme, et les réfugiés qui constituent la majorité de la population de la Bande de Gaza, sont le rappel permanent du nettoyage ethnique criminel sur la base duquel Israël a été créé. La pauvreté, le manque de ressources et le manque de liberté, sont en parfait contraste avec l’abondance, la liberté et le pouvoir qui existent en Israël, et qui devraient appartenir de plein droit aux Palestiniens.
(image : Le Camp de réfugiés d’Alshati, à quelques kilomètres seulement d’Ashkelon)
Cette nuit-là, de retour à l’Aéroport Ben-Gourion, on m’a dit que si je coopérais et que je me soumettais à l’agent de sécurité en poste, le contrôle irait bien plus vite. Lorsque je rejetais la généreuse proposition, ils me firent comprendre qu’ils « n’aimaient pas mon attitude », et ils apposèrent sur mes bagages le même code barre que celui des Palestiniens, et me réservèrent le même traitement qu’eux.
« JAMAIS PLUS ? »
Au moment où j’écris ces mots, le nombre d’innocents assassinés à Gaza à dépassé les deux mille. En finir avec l’insupportable régime raciste et brutal créé par le Sionisme en Palestine est l’urgence du moment. Critiquer la Résistance Palestinienne n’est pas raisonnable. Israël doit être soumis au boycott, aux désinvestissements et aux sanctions. Les diplomates israéliens doivent être renvoyés chez eux couverts de honte. Les leaders et les chefs militaires israéliens voyageant à l’étranger devraient craindre les poursuites judiciaires. Et ces mesures devraient être doublées de désobéissance civile, de non-coopération et d’une résistance sans compromission. C’est à ce prix, et à celui-ci seulement, que nous pourrons montrer aux mères, aux pères et aux enfants de Gaza, que « Jamais Plus » est bien plus qu’une vaine promesse.
régime raciste et brutal créé par le Sionisme en Palestine est l’urgence du moment. Critiquer la Résistance Palestinienne n’est pas raisonnable. Israël doit être soumis au boycott, aux désinvestissements et aux sanctions. Les diplomates israéliens doivent être renvoyés chez eux couverts de honte. Les leaders et les chefs militaires israéliens voyageant à l’étranger devraient craindre les poursuites judiciaires. Et ces mesures devraient être doublées de désobéissance civile, de non-coopération et d’une résistance sans compromission. C’est à ce prix, et à celui-ci seulement, que nous pourrons montrer aux mères, aux pères et aux enfants de Gaza, que « Jamais Plus » est bien plus qu’une vaine promesse.
I purchased his book on Amazon. He is an amazing man, and I believe he will succeed where others have failedo
Dear Miko,
Will you be able to come to Washington DC this year to speak? We have written to you, through your publisher, regarding scheduling, finances, etc. Please reply through them, or directly to me. Thank you so much for your courageous work,
Ingrid (and Bob, and Ralph)
Buh Bye Schlomo. John 8:44. Read it. It’s about you.
You are a brave man in a dangerous world. May God be with you.