In late August, the Israeli army stormed through the Al-Aqsa Foundation in Umm al-

historic documents stored there

Mayor of the town, Sheikh Raed Salah. Thousands of historic

documents which preserve the heritage of the Islamic and Christian sanctuaries in Jerusalem were removed, and

valuable historically, culturally and academically. The actions of Israel have been condemned

internationally, and the Palestinians are calling for intervention and pressure to be brought on Israel to return all of the documents.

Friends of Al-Aqsa hascalled on the government to intervene and ensure the

documents are returned to their rightful owners. Many fear that this is another attempt by Israel to erase the historic rights of all non-Jews to Jerusalem.Reports have also emerged that Israeli Raabis have called for the murder of prominent

Palestinian leader Shaykh Raed Salah and for attacks against the Al-Aqsa mosque.Shaykh Raed is a well-knownand popular Palestinian peace activist and has been arrested by Israel previously for his activism.

Setting Gaza Free

Israel makes journalists a legitimate target

British diplomats attacked by violent Israeli settler

AqsaPalestinian gives

birth to quadruplets

Peace Activists Sail to Gaza’s Shore

Condemnation as Israel Closes Al-Aqsa Foundation

The plight of the 1.5 million people in Gaza has been in the forefront of people’s minds throughout the world. As the blockade tightened, and the humanitarian situation turned catastrophic, a group of peace activists decided to take action and break the siege themselves and help bring relief to the suffering people.

Months of planning culminated in August with the sailing of two boats from Greece to Gaza, with 46 international activists from 14

countries around the world on board. With them, they carried vital medicines and supplies which the people of Gaza have been denied for many months. These included hearing aids for the hundreds of children in Gaza whose hearing has been impaired by Israel’s loud bombs, explosions and sonic booms.

The SS Free Gaza and the SS Liberty were by no means luxurious liners, but rather, there was doubt about their seaworthiness from many

quarters. However, these 46heroes and heroines braved the tides and made the perilous journey on a rough sea, even with the threat of Israeli guns targeting them.

Those on board included journalist and presenter Yvonne Ridley, who alluded to many threats made against the peace activists and their family’s during the planning of this voyage and while it was under way. Israel initially responded by stating that the boats would not be allowed to reach Gaza.

This position later changed following intense international media interest in the voyage.

mission was humanitarian and did not intervene as the boats approached Gaza.

Thousands of Palestinians

meet the peace activists, and

boats were in the waters to escort them in. The peace activists described their mission as perilous but absolutely necessary. While in Gaza, they

their territorial waters safely. All too often, the lives of these

Israeli gun-boats.Most of the peace activists

left Gaza on August 28th, having achieved their mission of bringing the world’sattention to the humanitarian situation there. However, Israel has closed all of Gaza’s borders ‘until further notice,’

I N B R I E F

2

Israel makes journalists legitimate targets

Palestinianwoman gives

quadruplets

Jeff Halper Arrested

Extra-judicial

Israel constructing 2600

in the area.

Israeli petition againstattacking Iran

website

Shana by an Israeli tank crew

journalist crew.

The Palestinian Centre for

part of the ‘chronic failure

The failure of Israel to

international prosecution of the

alists no area.

a tour of the city of Hebron.

the area.

the Palestinian town of Hebron

police.

the situation in Hebron for

This project has been

Palestinian prisoner at close

City in July. The healthy birth

care for ill babies.

I N B R I E F

3

Siege of Gaza continues despite truce

Friends of Al-AqsaSponsored Walk 2008

Award winning Palestinian journalist tortured by Israeli soldiers

Paul McCartney to Perform in Israel

the Palestinian people.

Israeli troops continue incursions in West Bank

incursions into West Bank towns

to cause fear in the local population.

Palestinians fear attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Campaigns to Boycott Israeli Dates in Ramadan

treat patients with acute illnesses for nearly 2 years. but there has been little action

success. 100 people took part

sponsorship. Look out for

to take place in May 2009.

The Martha Gellhorn Prize is

to a journalist whose work

be a father.

the National Court of Spain the warrants so that these

4

Truth and consequences under the Israeli occupation

BOOK REVIEW

Mohammed Omer5 August 2008

I am a Palestinian journalist from Gaza. At the age of 17, I armed myself with a camera and a pen, committed to report accurately on events in Gaza.

I have interviewed mothers as they watched their children die in hospitals unequipped

recognized for my reporting, even in the United States and United Kingdom, where I have won two international awards.

This summer, at age 24, I was honored to learn that

journalist to receive the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, named for the famed American war reporter and awarded to journalists who counter propaganda with the truth. Although Israel has sealed Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinians in what many now call the world’s largest open-air prison, Dutch MP Hans Van Baalen

to let me leave Gaza to receive my award in person. Upon my return from London, I was

hours. At one point I fainted and

pinching me, laughing all the

my feet, sweeping my head through my own vomit. I lost consciousness. I was told later that they transferred me to a hospital only when they thought I might die.

and scratches on my chest and

doctor informed me that due to nerve damage from one

children and will need to have an operation.

are not new; nor are they rare.

In April, Reuters cameraman

press. According to Amnesty International, “Fadel Shana

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the Israeli

to Protect Journalists reports that journalists covering Israeli military actions in the West

alone, Israeli soldiers shot photographers from Agence France-Presse, Al-Ayyam newspaper and Al-Aqsa TV. The television cameraman, Imad Ghanem, fell to the ground when wounded. Israeli forces then shot him twice more in the legs. Both of his

our cameras and computers,

which give the world access to images and information

of Palestinians? Indeed, this

an Israeli soldier shooting

outlets.Although Palestinians

face this violence daily, the images and our stories rarely

Israel seems intent on hiding its oppression of Palestinians under its rule -- including its dual system of laws, one giving civil, political and social rights to Israelis, and the other denying those rights to Palestinians living under occupation. This system allows

to enjoy freedom of movement and access to healthcare and education, while Palestinian

have run out of medicine.

to light atrocities committed in World War II and in the

Vietnam War. In her tradition, I remain committed to accurate reporting from Gaza today. For this I may suffer lifelong consequences. But I hold on to the hope that Americans -- as well as journalists worldwide -- will impress upon Israel the need to respect the rights of reporters. Freedom of speech

of any democracy. I am proud to call myself a Palestinian and a journalist. The might of the Israeli military will not silence

lens.

Mohammed Omer is an award-winning photographer and journalist based in Rafah Refugee Camp in the southern Gaza Strip.

.

Making IsraelBy Benny Morris (ed) 2007,

University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978 0 472 03216 7,pp 384, £17.50.

Benny Morris is a

history and historiography of Palestine and Israel. One of the

had challenged the propagandist tendencies of much Israeli history and helped to reveal the

Morris’ later career, however,

challenger to hard-line Zionist schools of scholarship, does not necessarily correlate with a concern for modern-day Palesti-

nian rights or experiences, or rejection of the theory and

Palestinians from the current

a neat (though not necessarily complete) potted history of the

movement, such as it was, and

out, an interesting account of this phase in Israeli historiography.

Morris highlights the ‘outsider’

Historians, such as Tom Segev or Avi Shlaim – as journalists rather than conventional academics, or as scholars who had studied overseas and had the opportunity to acquire new perspectives. He is also realistic

that they did play an important

narratives and challenging some of the founding myths of Israeli

that they had a particularly major role in political shifts towards contact with the PLO leadership and the genesis of the Oslo peace accords. These, he insists,

political, economic and security

Morris also contextualises some of the developments in

Historians were a part. Rather

they were in part responding to

which allowed them access to

which provided documentary evidence of expulsions and

of the commanders of the Israeli troops who carried them out. As such, he to an extent defends the Old Historians’ tradition,

censored academic and political atmosphere. While Morris may

of the opening of Israeli archives, some of the Palestinian writers

chapter, including famous names

and Edward Said, point out that to question and explore history and identity is often easier to do

Israeli writers, particularly those

As with some manifestations of the Israeli peace movement and its US and European sympathisers, most of the

are concerned with cleaning up the inside of Jewish Israel’s own house, not with restoring justice to Palestinians, whether citizens of Israel, living under Occupation or in the diaspora.

Mordechai Bar-On’s attempt to illustrate how dominant

developed in Israeli society,

accounts to his own experiences

with the political or ethical implications of admitting that Palestinian villagers were forced

or of conceding that the ‘David vs Goliath’ story of the tiny, valiant Jewish resistance might

enlist historiography in the cause of peace is morally praiseworthy,

State of Israel was, he asserts, the act of a people “regaining its

and views of history in Israeli

an education in the wider events

such as the account in Morris’

hand account of military service

soldier turned peace activist).

Palestinian position, some of the language used and assumptions

Reviewed by Sarah Irving,Freelance writer and

researcher. www.sarahirving.net

.

55

6

Message from Friends of Al-Aqsa

BoCCCooooo lloooo uuu rr iiiii nnnggggggggg

Palestine

BookBookBookBook

Palestine

hWord-searches

Colouring

Crosswordsr

Spot the differenferencehe diffdiffer

And much more…

AAAAAccccccccccttttt iiivvviiii tttttttttty

We wish all the readers of Aqsa News a blessed Ramadan. In this month of

we ask you all to take a moment to imagine life in Palestine. Gaza is a prison and everyday life is full of hardships and misery. Palestinians living there are being

nothing to look forward to and no end in sight to the misery.

Palestinians need two things from the

to get through to them in Gaza and the

and every one of us. Governments around the world have failed to bring Palestinians

Friends of Al-Aqsa works hard to bring

media and work in solidarity with other

Palestinians from oppression. Until

to live freely and build their lives up independently. Help them to do this by supporting solidarity groups like Friends of Al-Aqsa to spread knowledge and

What does Friends of Al-Aqsa do?Friends of Al-Aqsa is a non-government

defend the human rights of Palestinians. We do this by highlighting the abuses

and oppression. As more and more information about

far, Israel has barely been rebuked over its

end.

pressured into doing so. Many movements,

mounting this pressure.

the pressure on Israel.

on our web-site www.aqsa.org.uk.

a few thousand were able to return to their

Palestinian refugees living in refugee

for a prosperous future without the right to

return to their homes and live in what is now Israel shoulder the harsh burden of

Israel; they are denied employment and

denigration, they are still required to pay

Palestinian land through its settlements

wall has also led to the isolation of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank

Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the Holy

Al-Aqsa. Membership Form on page 5.

Leicester Radio RamadanFriends of Al-Aqsa

Pledge DaySunday 14 September 2008

Collection point: 200 Melbourne Road, Leicester

Tune in to 87.7FMand support us!!

57

8

Library Images of Olive trees planted in 2007.

Thank you for the Olive TreesDuring the Friends of Al-

Aqsa Pledge Day in Ramadan 2007, many of you donated towards the campaign to raise funds for Olive trees in Palestine. Your kind donations amounted to thousands of pounds. These funds were sent

to Palestinian organisations in Tulkarem, Nablus and Jenin. The funds were used to plant olive trees and adopt pre-existing olive tree orchards. Palestinians have grown and harvested olives for generations, and your donations will bring

much needed income to the people of these areas for many years to come.

The need to plant new olive trees and protect existing ones in order to give Palestinian farmers some hope for the future remains pressing. The Israeli

army has been responsible for uprooting thousands of olive and fruit trees in the Occupied Territories, and has used this as a tactic to force Palestinian farmers to leave their land.

Friends of Al-Aqsa asks all supporters to Please continue to

donate towards the planting of olive trees to help Palestinians regain sustainable futures.

.

.

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9

The passing of Mahmoud Darwish

Yvonne Ridley was one of the 46 Peace Activists who participated in the Free Gaza Campaign. She reported the events which unfolded in a daily column. There were times when it was clear that Yvonne and her fellow activists did not think they would ever reach Gaza. Below

their mission.

SettingGaza Free

By Yvonne Ridley

I still cannot believe I am writing to you from Gaza. Since the Free Gaza Movement sailed its two boats into Palestinian waters the celebrations have not stopped and our groups have been very busy.

Today I joined some women whose husbands, fathers and brothers are Israeli-held detainees; in a protest rally as a sign of solidarity in the hope that the Zionist State might show a little bit of humanity and release these political prisoners.

And yes, many, if not all of them are political prisoners.

This was reinforced today at the Gazan legislative council where we were told how 40 democratically elected MPs from Gaza are being held in Israeli jails having been kidnapped by the Zionist State for nothing more than being chosen to represent their people.

It is unbelievable, No wonder the Israelis like to shut out Western journalists from

Gaza, they really do not want the world to know what is happening here.

While I was doing this some 20 of the other international peace activists were up at 4am

Gaza, with six Palestinian

8-miles off the coast of Gaza as I write. I hear that they are being circled by three Israeli Dabur naval vessels. No shots

boats are continuing to exercise

turned round.The Oslo Accords allow

Palestinian Gazans a 20-mile limit off the coast of the Gaza Strip. Currently the Navy is enforcing a 6 mile limit, so the Free Gaza Movement has broken that naval blockade, too.

And tomorrow we all intend to go to the Rafah crossing to demand the Egyptians open the border so we can get sick Palestinians out to receive urgent medical aid and make sure humanitarian aid can get in from the other side.

Egypt - you have been put on notice - we are a determined group of peace activists who will stop at nothing ... especially brutal man-made barriers, blockades, walls and borders.

It is about time you and the rest of the Arab world started to show some solidarity with your Palestinian brothers and sisters. Do you really need to take lessons from a bunch of westerners in solidarity? Mr Hosni Mubarak - time to rip down the borders. You have been warned!

Celebrated Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish passed away on Saturday 9 August 2008 after 67 years of a life jumping from one peak to another, rising higher every time, transcending his own successes.

Mahmoud Darwish was considered to be the most important contemporary Arab poet. He was born in 1942 in the village of Barweh in the Galilee, which was razed to the ground by Israelis in 1948. As a result of his political activism he faced house arrest and imprisonment. Darwish was

the editor of Ittihad Newspaper before leaving in 1971 to study for a year in the USSR. He then travelled to Egypt where he worked in Cairo for Al-Ahram Newspaper and in Beirut, Lebanon as an editor of the Journal “Palestinian Issues”. He was also the director of the Palestinian Research Center.

Darwish was a member of the Executive Committee of the PLO and lived in exile between Beirut and Paris until his return in 1996 to Palestine. His poems are known throughout the Arab world, and several of them

were put to music. He published 30 poetry and prose collections, which were translated into 35 languages.

In 2001, Muhamoud Darwish won the Lannan Prize for Cultural Freedom. The prize recognizes people whose extraordinary and courageous work celebrates the human right to freedom of imagination, inquiry, and expression. As

cultural freedom is the right of individuals and communities to

diverse ways of life currently threatened by globalization.

NNOOI OI OT ITI TIT ITE TEPPMMMOOC OC O MMMMOOC O MC O M P IITTIITTEE OE T I T I O NNNNEnchhance to win a £20 Argos voucher and a Friends of Al-Aqsa goodybag!!! There will be one winner per competition.

13 years old or under???

following words in this word searchand send us your entries!

14-18 years old???

Can you rearrange these letters to make words from the story of Musa

(as) above?

ilhcdreneaiisr

Deadline for bothcompetitions:

31st October 2008

Send your answers with your name, age and address to:

Friends of Al-Aqsa, PO Box 5127, Leicester, LE2 0WU.

Or email us oninfo@aqsa.org

Winners of the lastcompetition:

Ammaarah Usmani,age 9 from Birmingham.

Khushbana Jan,age 14 from Bradford.

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Order your free copies of these posters from Friends of Al-Aqsa today.

These handy posters can be displayed anywhere includ-ing at home or in the office. The Shrinking Map tells the story of Palestine; the Wall poster shows how Palestin-ians are being caged in; and the Boycott poster is a great reminder of which companies to boycott.

To order your copies, email us at info@aqsa.org.uk with your details and specify how many posters you require.

Fun & Games10

IsHunger

ForPeople

InGazaAnd

West Bank

TheChildren

OfPalestine

WillHaveLittleFoodThis

RamadanThere

The story of Ahmed Hisham Abu Shawish. August 2008

‘I have been sick for more than a year now. Five months

University here in Gaza city,

northern Gaza city.

suffers from serious hematuria,

from their home.

uncertainty.

The ongoing siege of the

to see restrictions on Gazans,

Gaza patients continue painful wait for urgent medical treatment

get there before the stock ran

been scouring every corner of

he insists. “Those men are

income.

After more than a month into

of gas every two weeks, but

the case with most car owners

crisis in Gaza.

in Gaza, which is sensitive to

but to break it.

Digging tunnels between Gaza and Egypt is the only option for Gazans starved of medicine, fuel and basic supplies

11

The number of medical patients who have died of treatable illnesses in the Gaza Strip since the siege began rose to 239 on 21 August 2008. The Gaza Health Ministry called on Egypt to defy Israel and open up the border crossing at Rafah so that patients who cannot be treated in Gaza can safely pass without relying on Israeli issued permits. Israel issuespermits on an ad hoc basis and many desperate patients have been denied the right of passage.

There are at least 10 patients in ICU’s in Gaza waiting to be transferred to hospitals where they can be treated. The situation is also exacerbated by the refusal of the Ramallah based Palestinian Authority to issue new PA passportsto Palestinians in Gaza who cannot travel internationally without them.

Israeli human rights groups have also revealed that they have received reports from some patients stating that Israeli soldiers have been exerting pressure on them to

become collaborators in return for passage abroad for medical treatment. This has been condemned.

Earlier on this year, Palestinians held protests in

to symbolise the number of patients who have died due to lack of medical treatment in Gaza. These Palestinians continue to call on the international community to bring an end to the suffering of medical patients in the besieged strip.

Gaza Health Ministry appeals for Rafah Border opening

The Swiss Bank Sarasinhas heeded the calls of local activists to divest from Veolia Environnement, a company involved in the building of a tramway running through occupied East Jerusalem. The tramway is intended to make movement in East Jerusalem easier for the hundreds of thousands of illegal Israeli settlers living in the settlement belt built around the Palestinian side of the city. Bank Sarasin has entered into talks with Veolia about the Jerusalem contract and it is expected that they will either convince Veolia to withdraw from it, or sell their shares in the company.

Building of the tramway is illegal under international law, and is another step being taken by Israel to consolidate its control over East Jerusalem. The tram line cuts through Palestinian neighbourhoods already cut off from the rest of the West Bank by the separation wall.

Swiss Bank heeds

divestmentcalls