[News] Palestinian Culture: 64 Years Under Israeli Assault
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Fri Aug 3 11:02:07 EDT 2012
*FACT SHEET: Palestinian Culture: 64 Years Under Israeli Assault*
http://imeu.net/news/article0022828.shtml
IMEU, Aug 2, 2012
In late July, while on a trip to Israel and occupied East Jerusalem,
presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney sparked outrage
amongst Palestinians by telling a group of supporters at a fundraiser
that the glaring disparity between the strength of Israel's economy and
that of the Palestinian territories is a result of differences in the
respective cultures of Israelis and Palestinians.
In response, many critics pointed out that the Palestinian West Bank,
East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, have been under Israeli military
occupation for more than 45 years, with Israel tightly controlling and
systematically stifling Palestinian economic activity. Moreover, some
pointed out that the destructive effects that Israeli policies have had
on Palestinian economic development in the occupied territories is just
one part of a wider, systematic, decades-old Israeli assault against
Palestinian culture and historical memory.
To put this controversy into context, the IMEU offers the following fact
sheet detailing Israel's more than six-decade-old assault on Palestinian
society and culture.
*MASS EXPULSIONS OF PALESTINIANS*
*& THEFT OF PALESTINIAN LAND*
* During Israel's creation (1947-49) some 750,000 Palestinians, or
2/3 of the Arab population in what would become Israel, were
expelled from their homes and land by Zionist and then Israeli
forces to make way for a Jewish majority state in a region that
had previously been populated overwhelmingly by Muslim and
Christian Palestinian Arabs.
* Some 400 Palestinian towns and villages, including vibrant urban
centers, were systematically destroyed by Zionist and Israeli
forces during and after the creation of the state.
* The total monetary loss of Palestinians dispossessed during
Israel's creation has been estimated
<http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/pubs/20010803ib.html>
at upwards of $100 billion (US) in today's dollars.
* At the end of 1947, just prior to Israel's establishment, Zionist
Jews and organizations owned less than 7% of the land of British
Mandate Palestine. Despite this, the United Nations Partition Plan
passed in November 1947 allotted 55% of Mandate Palestine to a new
Jewish state, disregarding the property rights and wishes of
Palestinian Arabs, who comprised some 67% of the population.
* During the subsequent military campaign that accompanied Israel's
creation, Zionist and Israeli forces expanded far beyond the
borders of the Jewish state called for in the UN Partition Plan,
conquering 78% of Mandate Palestine and incorporating it into what
became Israel's internationally recognized, pre-1967 War borders.
* Most Palestinian refugees fled or were forced from their homes on
short notice. Almost 65 years later, those refugees and their
descendants continue to be denied their legal right to return to
their land and homes, as called for in UN Resolution 194
<http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C758572B78D1CD0085256BCF0077E51A>,
and have been denied any kind of compensation from Israel for
their economic and other losses.
* In 1967, during the June, or Six-Day War, Israel conquered the
West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, the 22% of historic Palestine
that remained outside its borders in 1948. In addition to creating
tens of thousands of new Palestinian refugees, some for the second
time over, almost immediately Israeli authorities began to
colonize the occupied territories, in violation of international
law, with Jewish-only settlements built on expropriated
Palestinian land. Today more than half a million Israeli Jews live
on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
* In 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization made what was
considered a major historic compromise, renouncing claim to 78% of
Mandate Palestine and agreeing to a Palestinian state on just the
remaining 22%, comprising the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
Despite this, Israel has continued to relentlessly colonize the
occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem with a network of
Jewish-only settlements and attendant infrastructure, Israeli-only
roads, military bases, and the West Bank wall, surrounding,
dissecting, and isolating Palestinian population centers from one
another and the outside world.
*THEFT, DESTRUCTION & APPROPRIATION OF PALESTINIAN CULTURE*
* During Israel's creation in 1948, tens of thousands of Palestinian
books were systematically "collected"
<http://972mag.com/documenting-scores-of-palestinian-books-nakbas-lesser-known-victims/34169/>
by the Israeli army and its precursor, the Hagannah, in
cooperation with the Israeli National Library. The books included
priceless volumes of Palestinian Arab and Muslim literature,
including poetry, works of history and fiction. Thousands of the
books were destroyed and recycled for paper, while others were
added to the library's collection. Today, many remain in the
Israeli National Library, designated abandoned property.
* Since prior to Israel's founding in 1948, British and then Israeli
authorities engaged in a systematic campaign targeting Palestinian
political leaders, artists, and intellectuals for imprisonment,
exile, and assassination, starting in the 1930s with the exiling
by British authorities of the Palestinian political leadership of
the Arab Higher Committee. Amongst the artists and intellectuals
subsequently murdered by Israel were writer Ghassan Kanafani, and
poet and intellectual Wael Zuaiter
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/arts/design/01wise.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all>.
* During Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Israeli forces
systematically looted and confiscated the accumulated national
archives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, including
invaluable collections of films and other cultural artifacts.
* The 2009 US State Department International Religious Freedom
Report <http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2009/127349.htm> noted
the Israeli government does not recognize non-Jewish holy sites
and that as a result, "many Muslim and Christian sites are
neglected, inaccessible, or threatened by property developers and
municipalities."
* In a move that prompted international criticism and typifies
Israeli policy towards Palestinian sites that are of cultural and
historical importance, Israel is allowing the Los Angeles-based
Simon Wiesenthal Center to build a "Museum of Tolerance"
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/10/tolerance-of-whom.html>
over one of the oldest and most culturally significant Palestinian
Muslim sites in the Holy Land, the ancient Mamilla cemetery in
Jerusalem. Press reports have revealed evidence of widespread
desecrations of tombs and their remains by construction workers.
*DENIAL OF ACCESS TO EDUCATION*
* Israeli restrictions on the movement of Palestinians living in the
occupied territories, including its network of hundreds of
checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank, travel permit system,
and siege of Gaza, prevent many Palestinian students from reaching
their schools and accessing their right to education.
* There is a de facto embargo against Palestinian students from the
occupied territories wishing to study abroad. Students from Gaza
in particular, including Fulbright Scholars,
<http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4964329&page=1> are
often prevented by Israel's siege from traveling to universities
in the West Bank and abroad to study in their chosen fields.
* In the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the First Intifada, or
uprising against Israel's occupation, Israeli authorities shut
down many Palestinian schools, forcing Palestinians teachers and
students to improvise classes in secret to avoid being shut down
by the Israeli army.
*STIFLING OF PALESTINIAN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY*
* In July 2012, the World Bank released a report that concluded
<http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/world-bank-palestinian-economy-unsustainable-16851626>
Palestinian economic growth in the West Bank was unsustainable
citing Israeli restrictions as the biggest impediment. The
International Monetary Fund has stated
<http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=375942> the same
thing.
* At any given time, there are upwards of 500 Israeli checkpoints,
roadblocks, and other barriers to movement within the occupied
West Bank, -- an area smaller than Delaware -- hindering
Palestinians and their goods from moving between their own towns
and cities and the outside world. (Click here
<http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ochaopt_atlas_westbank_december2011.pdf>
for December 2011 UN map of barriers to movement in the West Bank)
* Historically, Jerusalem has been the economic and cultural center
of Palestinian life in the surrounding West Bank. However, as a
result of Israeli policies and actions taken in and around
occupied East Jerusalem (the borders of which were greatly
expanded by Israel unilaterally following the start of its
occupation in 1967), including settlement construction and the
implementation of a permit system for non-Israeli citizens, today
Palestinians living in the West Bank are largely cut off from the
city, unable to visit for worship, to see family, or to do business.
* Almost 80% of the Jordan Valley, once the breadbasket of
Palestine, is off-limits to Palestinians, designated for Israeli
settlements, military 'firing zones,' and 'nature reserves.'
(Click here
<http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_jordan_valley_factSheet_february_2012_map_english.pdf>
for 2012 UN map)
* According to a December 2010 Human Rights Watch report
<http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/12/18/israelwest-bank-separate-and-unequal>
entitled "Separate and Unequal: Israel's Discriminatory Treatment
of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories":
'Palestinians face systematic discrimination merely because of
their race, ethnicity, and national origin, depriving them of
electricity, water, schools, and access to roads, while nearby
Jewish settlers enjoy all of these state-provided benefits...
While Israeli settlements flourish, Palestinians under Israeli
control live in a time warp -- not just separate, not just
unequal, but sometimes even pushed off their lands and out of
their homes.'
*GAZA SIEGE & BLOCKADE***
* Although Israel withdrew its soldiers and 8000 settlers from the
Gaza Strip in 2005, Gaza remains under Israeli occupation
according to international law as Israel continues to maintain
effective control over the area, controlling most entry in and out
of the territory, as well as its coastline and airspace.* *
* Since the early 1990s, Israel has restricted passage to and from
Gaza, but in 2006, following Hamas' victory in Palestinian
elections, Israel tightened its restrictions severely and imposed
a naval blockade on the tiny coastal enclave of 1.6 million
people. (Click here
<http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ochaopt_atlas_gaza_strip_december2011.pdf>
for December 2011 Gaza access and closure map)
* A 2009 Amnesty International report
<http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/007/2009/en/4c407b40-e64c-11dd-9917-ed717fa5078d/mde150072009en.html>
following Operation Cast Lead, Israel's devastating military
assault on Gaza in the winter of 2008-9, stated:
'The prolonged blockade of Gaza, which had already been in
place for some 18 months before the current fighting began,
amounts to collective punishment of its entire population.'
* Israeli officials have admitted that the siege is not motivated
primarily by security concerns, but is part of a strategy of
"economic warfare" against the people of Gaza. In 2006, senior
advisor to then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Dov Weisglass, said
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/apr/16/israel> the goal of
the Gaza siege was to put the people of Gaza "on a diet, but not
to make them die of hunger."
* Although Israel loosened restrictions somewhat under international
pressure following its deadly assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla
in 2010, the siege and blockade continue to smother Gaza
economically. According to a 2012 Human Rights Watch report
<http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-israeloccupied-palestinian-territories>:
'Israel's punitive closure of the Gaza Strip, tightened after
Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June 2007, continued to have
severe humanitarian and economic consequences for the civilian
population.
'Gaza's economy grew rapidly, but the World Bank said the
growth depended on international assistance. The economy had
not returned to pre-closure levels; daily wages, for instance,
had declined 23 percent since 2007. Israel's near-total
restrictions on exports from Gaza hindered economic recovery.
Due to low per capita income, 51 percent of the population was
unable to buy sufficient food, according to UN aid agencies.
'Israel allowed imports to Gaza that amounted to around 40
percent of pre-closure levels, the UN reported. Israel
continued to bar construction materials, like cement, which it
said had "dual use" civilian and military applications. Israel
allowed shipments of construction materials for projects
operated by international organizations, but as of September
Gaza still had an estimated shortage of some 250 schools and
100,000 homes.'
*THEFT & DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINAN NATURAL RESOURCES*
* After taking control of the occupied territories in 1967, Israel
began to exploit their natural resources. Most critically in the
semi-arid region, Israel began to exploit aquifers and other water
sources.*
*
* A 2009 Amnesty International report
<http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/israel-rations-palestinians-trickle-water-20091027>
entitled "Israel rations Palestinians to trickle of water" found:
'In the Gaza Strip, 90 to 95 per cent of the water from its
only water resource, the Coastal Aquifer, is contaminated and
unfit for human consumption. Yet, Israel does not allow the
transfer of water from the Mountain Aquifer in the West Bank
to Gaza.
'Stringent restrictions imposed in recent years by Israel on
the entry into Gaza of material and equipment necessary for
the development and repair of infrastructure have caused
further deterioration of the water and sanitation situation in
Gaza, which has reached [a] crisis point.'
* According to a 2010 Human Rights Watch report
<http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt1210webwcover_0.pdf>,
60,000 Palestinians living in Area C of the West Bank, which is
under full Israeli control, lack access to running water, and must
pay high prices (up to one-sixth of their income) to bring in
water tankers, which require special permits from Israel.
* According to the 2011 US State Department Country Report
<http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/190656.pdf> on Human
Rights Practices for Israel and the occupied territories:
'Between January and July, according to the UN, the Israeli
military destroyed 20 water cisterns, some of which were
funded by donor countries for humanitarian purposes.
'Palestinian residents reported that water supplies were
intermittent, and settlers and their security guards denied
Palestinians, including shepherds and farmers, access to the
springs.'
* In the West Bank, Israeli settlers consume on average 4.3 times
the amount of water
<http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/iopt1210webwcover_0.pdf>
as Palestinians. In the Jordan Valley alone, some 9000 settlers in
Israeli agricultural settlements use one-quarter the total amount
of water consumed by the entire Palestinian population of the West
Bank, some 2.5 million people.
* In addition to water and arable land, Israel also exploits
Palestinian resources such as minerals, including from the Dead
Sea region
<http://www.alternet.org/story/155873/campaign_and_new_law_challenge_chic_israeli_company_ahava_cosmetics%2C_whose_%22dead_sea_mud%22_illegally_exploits_palestinians>.
*DESTRUCTION OF AGRICULTURE*
* Since the start of the occupation in 1967, Israel has destroyed
vast amounts of Palestinian agricultural land in order to
construct settlements and attendant infrastructure such as roads
and military bases, and for the West Bank wall, deemed illegal by
the International Court of Justice. In addition, vast amounts of
farmland have been destroyed in Israeli military operations and by
rampaging Jewish settlers, who set fire to Palestinian fields and
crops, uproot olive trees, and even kill livestock.
* According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, in 2011 alone
some 10,000 Palestinian-owned trees, mostly olive trees, were
damaged or destroyed by Israeli settlers, significantly
undermining the livelihoods of hundreds of West Bank families.
* Between 2000 and 2007, more than half a million Palestinian olive
trees were destroyed by settlers or by Israel for the construction
of the West Bank wall.
--
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415
863-9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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