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Occupy Wall Street, Not Palestine: OWS Says No To War

Posted 20 hours ago on Nov. 19, 2012, 1:24 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt Tags: anti-war, gaza

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Since the latest round of violence erupted in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, many of us in OWS (who have always felt inspired by those so-called "Arab Spring" demonstrators who occupied their public squares in a cry for democracy) have felt saddened and torn. We completely condemn the Hamas rocket attacks on civilians, but we also know that retaliation will only beget further violence. We hold diverse opinions on the ongoing situation there, but from the bottom of our hearts, we feel the utmost solidarity and compassion for those -- on all sides of the conflict -who are suffering from terror and wish peace to prevail. It is possible to support those in Israel [link via Occupy Judaism] without supporting the injustices perpetuated by the Israeli state; we stand united against antisemitism and islamophobia alike, and we condemn violence from all sides.

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Some Occupiers have been taking part in a recent round of solidarity demonstrations with the people of Gaza. Meanwhile, in Israel, supporters of the #J14 social justice movement and many others have also demonstrated against the military actions of Israel. OWS has always been a nonviolent movement, and as such, we oppose all militarism as robbing the 99% (of money and lives) and strengthening the stranglehold of the 1%. It is clear that these latest acts of aggression, like wars orchestrated by the U.S. government at home and abroad, are just another way of boosting election chances by power-hungry politicians. This latest Israeli assault takes place among a complex history. Palestinians, like all people, deserve self-determination, the right to return to their homes, to not have their communities demolished, and not forced to live in open-air prisons under military blockade or threat of invasion. But war will not solve this crisis, nor any other; it will only increase extremism, resentment, poverty, and the underlying systemic problems that perpetuate more violence. Collectively punishing an entire population for the actions of a few is not justice. Just as our own government here in U.S. spends trillions on "military defense" while education, infrastructure, and social programs crumble, neither Hamas nor Netanyahu government truly care for the poor and oppressed within their own lands, aside from meager social programs, and would rather spend millions on rockets than create real social justice. Make no mistake: While we must stand against violence in all forms, this "war" is a one-sided conflict between a military which is one of the largest and best-equipped in the world, the Israeli Defense Forces, who enjoy widespread support from the U.S. military industrial complex, and a people whose lands have been steadily dwindling for decades. Civilian causalities in Gaza, a tiny strip of land that is densely populated and has been under blockade for some time (meaning that no one can leave, there is no where to hide, and medical supplies and other goods cannot enter) far outweigh those in Israel, with its advanced missile defense system. As a result, despair and desire for revenge are on the rise, and politicians on all sides seek to exploit this. While the 1% of the United States supports and profits from these latest acts of aggression, and U.S. money and arms are used to conduct it, there are those of us within these colonized borders who refuse to let this happen in our name, with our tax dollars. As if it were not enough to merely denounce militarism and hatred for its own sake, to those who would say this is not an economic issue, or that this does not apply to income inequality: How much poverty is one jet, one bomb worth? There can be no social justice or economic equality in a world ruined by war or controlled by colonialism. The United States, itself built on broken treaties and stolen land, is still the greatest exporter of arms and builder of the largest (and most racially disparate) prison system ever known on Earth. For those incarcerated and targeted by police brutality, for those who are forced to live on impoverished reservations, and those shackled by debt here in the U.S., to the victims of terror in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and across the world, we must continue to build a mass people's movement across divisions of race, religion, and all other borders to oppose tyranny, colonialism, and war in all forms. We all deserve to live in safety in our homes and enjoy the same rights, regardless of religion or race, whether we are immigrants or not. Our leaders would distract us by filling our minds with zealous hatred and send us to kill and die. We say no more. The best way to end war is to start by overthrowing our regimes at home. Those with power wish to keep it; and war is profitable, politically and economically, for them. As long as the logic of capitalism declares "pursue profit at all cost," regardless of the toll it takes on humanity, and as long as power, land, and resources are concentrated in the hands of the 1%, wars will continue as the rest of us are forced to compete over what is left, what for thousands of generations was shared by all. The capitalist imperative that allows multinational banks to profit by evicting innocent families from their homes is the same logic that justifies taking more and more land in Palestine and the world over. The bombs over Gaza and Tel Aviv are merely the most dramatic example of a global system that seeks to rob us all of our right to live peacefully. Protesting wars abroad is not enough; we must fight the war at home. This is why the best way to end war is to end capitalism and domination. We must make right the wrongs of the past by building a world in which all have access to the basic means of survival and safety, so that not one more person will die in a fruitless war. Our struggles should not be against one another, but against those who would rob us of our land and send us to fight and die for their own gain.

Our struggle for peace, justice, and reconciliation here in United States is the same struggle of all peoples everywhere. Those who call for and profit from war, regardless of their stated claims, are the enemies of us all. This is why we say Occupy Wall Street, not Palestine! No to war! No to racism everywhere! No to the war machine fueled by greed! The following statement, issued by a group calling itself "Gaza Youth Breaks Out" has gone viral on the internet, and we reproduce it here to show our solidarity with the innocent civilians of Gaza and Israel, and because we feel affinity with its message.

GAZAN YOUTHS MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE

Fuck Hamas. Fuck Israel. Fuck Fatah. Fuck UN. Fuck UNWRA. Fuck USA! We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community! We want to scream and break this wall of silence, injustice and indifference like the Israeli F16s breaking the wall of sound; scream with all the power in our souls in order to release this immense frustration that consumes us because of this fucking situation we live in; we are like lice between two nails living a nightmare inside a nightmare, no room for hope, no space for freedom. We are sick of being caught in this political struggle; sick of cold dark nights with airplanes circling above our homes; sick of innocent farmers getting shot in the buffer zone because they are taking care of their lands; sick of bearded guys walking around with their guns abusing their power, beating up or incarcerating young people demonstrating for what they believe in; sick of the wall of shame that separates us from the rest of our country and keeps us imprisoned in a stamp-sized piece of land; sick of being portrayed as terrorists, homemade fanatics with explosives in our pockets and evil in our eyes; sick of the indifference we meet from the international community, the so-called experts in expressing concerns and drafting resolutions but cowards in enforcing anything they agree on; we are sick and tired of living a shitty life, being kept in jail by Israel, beaten up by Hamas and completely ignored by the rest of the world. There is a revolution growing inside of us, an immense dissatisfaction and frustration that will destroy us unless we find a way of canalizing this energy into something that can challenge the status quo and give us some kind of hope. The final drop that made our hearts tremble with frustration and hopelessness happened 30rd November, when Hamas officers came to Sharek Youth Forum, a leading youth organization (www.sharek.ps) with their guns, lies and aggressiveness, throwing everybody outside, incarcerating some and prohibiting Sharek from working. A few days later, demonstrators in front of Sharek were beaten and some incarcerated. We are really living a nightmare inside a nightmare. It is difficult to find words for the pressure we are under. We barely survived the Operation Cast Lead, where Israel very effectively bombed the shit out of us, destroying thousands of homes and even more lives and dreams. They did not get rid of Hamas, as they intended, but they sure scared us forever and distributed post traumatic stress syndrome to everybody, as there was nowhere to run. We are youth with heavy hearts. We carry in ourselves a heaviness so immense that it makes it difficult for us to enjoy the sunset. How to enjoy it when dark clouds paint the horizon and bleak memories run past our eyes every time we close them? We smile in order to hide the pain. We laugh in order to forget the war. We hope in order not to commit suicide here and now. During the war we got the unmistakable feeling that Israel wanted to erase us from the face of the earth. During the last years Hamas has been doing all they can to control our thoughts, behaviour and aspirations. We are a generation of young people used to face missiles, carrying what seems to be a impossible mission of living a normal and healthy life, and only barely tolerated by a massive organization that has spread in our society as a malicious cancer disease, causing mayhem and effectively killing all living cells, thoughts and dreams on its way as well as paralyzing people with its terror regime. Not to mention the prison we live in, a prison sustained by a so-called democratic country. History is repeating itself in its most cruel way and nobody seems to care. We are scared. Here in Gaza we are scared of being incarcerated, interrogated, hit, tortured, bombed, killed. We are afraid of living, because every single step we take has to be considered and well-thought, there are limitations everywhere, we cannot move as we want, say what we want, do what we want, sometimes we even cant think what we want because the occupation has occupied our brains and hearts so terrible that it hurts and it makes us want to shed endless tears of frustration and rage! We do not want to hate, we do not want to feel all of this feelings, we do not want to be victims anymore. ENOUGH! Enough pain, enough tears, enough suffering, enough control, limitations, unjust justifications, terror, torture, excuses, bombings, sleepless nights, dead civilians, black memories, bleak future, heart aching present, disturbed politics, fanatic politicians, religious bullshit, enough incarceration! WE SAY STOP! This is not the future we want! We want three things. We want to be free. We want to be able to live a normal life. We want peace. Is that too much to ask? We are a peace movement consistent of young people in Gaza and supporters elsewhere that will not rest until the truth about Gaza is known by everybody in this whole world and in such a degree that no more silent consent or loud indifference will be accepted. This is the Gazan youths manifesto for change!

We will start by destroying the occupation that surrounds ourselves, we will break free from this mental incarceration and regain our dignity and self respect. We will carry our heads high even though we will face resistance. We will work day and night in order to change these miserable conditions we are living under. We will build dreams where we meet walls. We only hope that you yes, you reading this statement right now! can support us. In order to find out how, please write on our wall or contact us directly: freegazayouth@hotmail.com We want to be free, we want to live, we want peace. FREE GAZA YOUTH! Pls consider supporting us by taking one or more of the following actions: 1) Promoting our manifesto by sharing it on your profile on Facebook 2) Sending an email to your friends asking them to like our page FB 3) Translating the manifesto to your language and sending it to us (we have it in English, Arabic, Hebrew, French, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish) 4) Sending the manifesto to journalists in your country 5) Making organizations in your countries that are concerned with the Palestinian issue and/or youth rights know about our existence 6) Posting links about violation of youth's rights in Gaza on our wall 7) Planning an event in your country about this issue and/or organizing for a skype conference, where we are able to talk with a group of youth, politicians or others outside Gaza 8) Suggesting us ideas for reaching out to a greater number of people

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6 points by beautifulworld (10506) 12 hours ago

Ending the indifference of the international community with regard to Gaza is a starting point. If we care, we can help make change. We need to pay attention to the suffering of our fellow humans all over the world and that includes Gaza.
twinkle
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2 points by shadz66 (9323) 3 hours ago

OWS is right to show Solidarity with The Youth of Gaza and with their families. That "we need to pay attention to the suffering of our fellow humans", is absolutely true if we here truly wish to work towards a beautiful world for all. We are either for Universal Human Rights for all, everywhere - "and that includes Gaza" - or not at all. This news article is a truly heartfelt cris de coeur and is very cogent and moving as the bombardment from air, sea and land of Gaza goes into its 7th day with nearly 900 Palestinians injured, 116 dead and 3 Israelis dead. I append some links to help bring some light to all this heat : "Noam Chomsky ; My Visit to Gaza, the World's Largest Open-Air Prison" : http://truthout.org/opinion/item/12635-noam-chomsky-my-visit-to-gaza-the-worlds-largest-open-air-prison , "We are forbidden to say this - Gaza is a Concentration Camp", by Arthur Silber : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33077.htm "Operation Short Memory - Uri Avnery", by Gush Shalom : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33052.htm , "The Forgotten Palestinians", by Ilan Pappe : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCQx47kN6tI "Rabbis for Palestine : A One State Solution For All" : http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=VcjNJacDvPo & finally ... "Tears of Gaza - The Movie" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohSO_MGNw1Q . 'ToG' is an award winning doc. by James Miller { http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Miller_(filmmaker) } about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a 'must watch' for its insights into the real situation in Gaza. Peace is probably antithetical to any Military-Industrial-Complex and War Machine, wherever it may be, where Military Expenditure is actually used to surreptitiously support huge areas of a de facto War Economy. For Peace to break out there must be opportunity to give voice to all who believe in Peace. Peace ; Pax ; Shalom ; Salam ; Shaanti ~*~ fiat lux, fiat pax, fiat justitia ...

twinkle
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4 points by richardkentgates (3784) from Fort Walton Beach, FL 11 hours ago

I rarely ever get to see anyone else thinking of the big picture in such an inclusive way. It is nearly impossible to see the forest when there is such a deluge of trees. This is a refreshing post and I thank everyone involved in crafting it.
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3 points by Genii (3) 9 hours ago

"We completely condemn the Hamas rocket attacks on civilians, but we also know that retaliation will only beget further violence." If it wasn't for the intifadas we would not even know what a Palestinian is. They die to bring the truth to our doors. Had people noticed then the US would perhaps not be occupied by a foreign government right now.
twinkle
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2 points by leia (2) from New York, NY 1 hour ago

I too believe the occupation of Palestine should end but there seems to be a very problematic equivalence of Hamas and the Israeli government in this statement (which actually confuses the situation in Gaza considerably). The US government funds Israel to the tune of billions of dollars every year, and Palestine is a country that has been militarily, socially and economically occupied for decades. Resistance to this (even rockets) should not be condemned nor referred to as "anti-semetic", but instead unconditionally supported. Hamas was democratically elected and the US has used their election to collectively punish the entire population. Those in Gaza have the right to criticize Hamas but are doing so with the understanding that the main obstacle to peace and dignity for the Palestinians is the Israeli occupation. Until that is ended, there is no chance for anyone to truly live. Best statement I've read thus far: "Some Westerners who are horrified by Israel's assault on Gaza are nonetheless queasy about defending Hamas' right to fire rockets into Israel. Yet whether solidarity activists agree with Hamas' tactics or not is irrelevant--we are not the ones who must suffer under Israel's bombs and occupation. Asserting one's horror at the occupier's aggression, yet denying the occupied their right to use whatever means available to rebel isn't solidarity--it's pity. Gazans living for years in a prison without access to sufficient food, medicine, infrastructure and any semblance of a decent life do not need our pity. They need our active support with their fight for selfdetermination." http://socialistworker.org/2012/11/20/gazas-right-to-resist
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2 points by stepheng (2) 3 hours ago

Excellently thoughtful statement. The Palestinians have been the pawns of the Arab world for 60 years. The fact that there are still refugee camps even in Palestinian controlled areas (like Bethlehem) is outrageous, and the idea that Israel should just "allow" rockets from Gaza to target its people because the Palestinians got a bum deal is equally outrageous. Both the blockade of Gaza and violence against Israel must end, but I think ending the indifference of the Arab world and the Palestinian ruling class to the plight of the 99% of Palestinians that just want to live in peace is the first step.
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2 points by PetadeAztlan (98) from Sacramento, CA 11 hours ago

Good comment by OWS and very politically correct. We here in the USA are not now being faced by rockets from the air. We must condemn the indiscrinate use of violence against civilians. On the other we should not be weak pathetic pacificsts when we are militarily attacked by anyone anywhere. We have the right to protect our lives by any means necessary, including the use of revolutionary violence. It involves a actual analysis of actual conditions, then appropriate responses. With Liberty and Justice for All! Peter S. Lpez AKA @Peta_de_Aztlan ~Sacramento, California c/s
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1 points by DKAtoday (21333) from Coon Rapids, MN 33 minutes ago

Thank you for this post. All war is wrong. The civilians are always the victims of armed conflict. Conflict fueled often times by unreasoning and/or greedy individuals in positions of power/influence. It will take the involvement of the civilians The People to make Fundamental change for the better. May the civilians "The People" in Gaza and Israel unite in promoting and achieving Peace. May all civilian populations "The People" unite in promoting peace.
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