When I lived in Occupied Palestine aka Israel for 15 years, 1981 - 1997, I
saw and experienced the outright racism of the Israeli State towards the
Palestinians. Even the Palestinian villages and towns and cities inside
Israel had it much worse than Jewish Israeli cities, towns, kibbiutzes and
moshavs. The funding for schools in Palestinian schools was much lower than
even the schools for Jewish students in the Development Towns. Almost all
cities and towns and all kibbutzes and moshavs are segregated. Only a few
cities inside the Israeli State have Jews and Palestinians living in the
same city, like Ramle, Yaffa, Akko and Jerusalem, but they are still
segregated within the cities, they dont live next to each other.
But much worse is the way soldiers treat Palestinians. I think it was in
the late 1980s maybe the early or mid 1990s Gideon Levy wrote an article in
the Haaretz weekend paper of the dozens of Palestinian children who had
been shot in the head while sitting in their classrooms in Gaza, some of
them dying, some of them losing their eyes.
During the years of the first Intifada, around 1987 I think, the Israeli
govt. shut down Bir Zeit University in the West Bank, and also closed many
schools throughout Gaza. So the Palestinians had to open community schools.
Israel practices their Apartheid policies on its own Jewish citizens. Jews
who were forced to immigrate to Israel from Arab countries were sent to
Development Towns, not to the big cities. There were meager job
opportunities in the Development Towns and the funding for the schools was
very low, so those students didnt get as good an education as students who
were of European descent. On the radio we only heard accents of Jewish
Israelis who spoke with an Ashkenazi accent, none who spoke with an accent
of someone whos native tongue was Arabic and at least half of all Jewish
Israelis are Arabs, i.e. they come from Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria,
Yemen, etc. There were horrendous racist jokes about Moroccan Jews and of
course even worse jokes about Palestinians.
Most Jewish Israelis and the entire Israeli govt. cares nothing about the
well being of the Palestinians. I have seen so much during the time I lived
there, again when I visited in 2002 and again when I lived in Gaza in 2008
for 4 months. In 2002 there was a month siege on the entire city of
Ramallah. 24 hours a day for weeks, nobody could leave their house, not for
food, not for medicine, not to go to work, not to go to school. Many
Palestinians were shot and maimed or killed just for standing outside on
the rooftops to their homes or even standing next to an open window in
their own home. Also, people would go out to try to buy pita, and the
Israeli soldiers driving around would shoot them dead, The israeli soldiers
used their tanks and other heavy armored vehicles to drive over the
vehicles of the Palestinians, destroying the vehicles. Also the Israeli
soldiers went into govt offices, destroying and/or stealing computers, hard
drives, video cameras, paper files of the file cabinets. The soldiers
defacated and urinated in the offices and the homes of Palestinians. The
Israeli soldiers stole money and other properties of Palstinians whose
homes they invaded. Banks were broken into and the entire infrastructure
was destroyed. The Israeli soldiers went into office buildings and either
destroyed or stole everything in the stores. They broke into the office of
a NeoNatal Doctor and destroyed his office, broke down his door. They also
refused to let him go to his clients, women who were giving birth. During
that time the maternity hospital near Bethlehem was bombed.
When I lived in Gaza in 2008, I witnessed how the siege on Gaza, 2 years
after it started, already had a severe impact on the entire population of
Gaza. Many buildings stood unfinished. Israel refused to allow the building
supplies in so that the doors, windows, etc could be installed into the
buildings. Many people were unemployed because of the lack of supplies and
the suppressed economy. Already then at least 20% if not more of the
children were malnourished. The Israeli Navy was severely limiting how far
Palestinians fishers could go out into their internationally recognized
waters to fish and have a livelihood and provide a good source of protein
for the Palestinians living in Gaza. Some of us International volunteers
went out with the fishers on their boats and witnessed the Israeli Navy
come and shoot at their boats and their nets and equipment, preventing them
from having a good catch of fish and also denying them their right to fish
in their own waters. The Israeli Navy also used high powered hoses to spray
water onto the boats, damaging the boats and injuring people. Then they
started using stinky water in their high powered hoses, spraying the stinky
water after a catch of fish was cast onto the boat, destroying the catch of
the day.
In previous years the Israeli army had invaded the Beit Hanoun area in
northern Gaza and decimated the fruit groves, so all the trees that used to
be there were gone. I witnessed humongous Israeli bulldozers come in
through the Apartheid Wall through a gate and dig up agricultural land.
The ongoing genocide and the starvation is beyond despicable and you Martin
have totally lost any sense of humanity that you could claim that the
Palestinians are responsible for this. The Palestinian people are one of
the most kindest, generous, loving people on this planet! I saw Hamas
providing tents to Palestinians in Gaza in the 1980s when the Israeli
soldiers were stationed there and were destroying many Palestinian homes.
Hamas also provided supplies for the families who needed supplies. Hamas
also provided kindergartens for the children. Hamas means Islamic
Resistance Movement and according to International Law, occupied people
have the right to rebel against their occupiers! Israeli soldiers and
settlers are constantly invading Palestinian lands!
If you really want to know how Israel treated the Palestinians prior to
1948 and from 1948 onwards read these books:
*"State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel" *
by Thomas Suarez
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fthomassuarez.com%2fSoT.html&c=E,1,q0ukTyVTYt_cjBYOLRnsNU8DWqhgR7regfjJwGQV-tufxOCNxzRHQvj2lpku_59Q-ldfQ6TOTl2fQP6reEYvmteNMFT0Al0IiGkaaaJnNYFPLk1IxGgI5q1g&typo=1
*"The Hundred Years War on Palestine"*
by Rashid Khalidi
*"The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine"*
by Illan Pappe
Donna Wallach
On Thu, Jul 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM Martin Wasserman
wrote:
> This is utter nonsense. If Israels modus operandi has always been
> "maximal violence and aggression with little to no regard for the sanctity
> of lives of civilian non-combatants,” why did they sign the 1993 Oslo
> Accord which brought Yasser Arafat and the PLO out of exile and gave them
> sovereignty of Arab areas in Judea and Samaria? And why did they forcibly
> evacuate all Jewish settlements in Gaza in 2005 instead of strengthening
> those settlements and digging in? The reality is, it was always the Arab
> leadership that sought to exterminate the Jews, giving the Jews no choice
> but to fight back.
>
>
> When Israel goes to war, it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian
> casualties, but groups like Hamas go out of their way to target Israeli
> civilians, and the Palestinian Authority gives large cash rewards to any
> Arab who murders any Jew, whether civilian or otherwise.
>
>
> Right now, people in Gaza are starving, not because of Israel, but because
> Hamas refuses to lay down its arms and release the hostages. The conflict
> would be over tomorrow if Hamas would do these simple things. In fact,
> Hamas tries forcibly, often with gunfire, to prevent Gazans from receiving
> life-giving aid that doesnt come through them, saying that receiving such
> aid amounts to "collaborating with the enemy.”
>
>
> The truth is, Israel has displayed more concern for the lives of Gazan
> civilians than the Gazans’ own leaders have. Perhaps the reason for this is
> that Israeli culture is based on reverence for life, while Hamas culture
> defines itself as revering death, and seeking martyrdom in battle as the
> highest possible goal.
>
>
> Martin Wasserman
>
>
> On Jul 24, 2025, at 2:45 PM, Salem Ajluni wrote:
>
> As a modest contribution to a better understanding of the thinking and
> practices of the Israeli state, past and present, I recommend a very useful
> and short book that I read more than 40 years ago. It was written by Livia
> Rokach, the daughter of Israel Rokach who was the Israeli Interior Minister
> in the government of Moshe Sharett, the latter being the second prime
> minister of the new state (1953-1955). She translated and published her
> fathers diaries, as well as parts of Sharetts diaries, both of which give
> us insights into the private elite thinking, planning and actions of main
> actors in the Israeli state vis-a-vis its neighboring countries in the
> 1950s (and vis-s-vis the U.S. and European powers) (see
> https://ia804501.us.archive.org/17/items/sacred-terrorism/Sacred-Terrorism.pdf
> ).
>
> The resonance and parallels between Israeli leadership thinking and
> actions in the 1950s (as explained by Rokach) and in the 21st century with
> regard to the states and peoples of Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, Gaza and
> Egypt (and, by extension, Iraq, Yemen and Iran) are instructive. There are
> considerable continuities across time and space: aggressive and domineering
> (supremicist?) thinking and behavior; an expansionist impulse; a
> sociopathic and homicidal (genocidal?) animus towards Arabs, especially
> Palestinians. It was all there in the 1940s and 1950s, as Rokach tells us,
> and its all there now, as we witness on a daily basis.
>
> Israel certainly didnt need Hamas to induce such thinking and behavior.
> In fact, the Hamas movement wasnt formally inaugurated until late 1987,
> almost two generations after the establishment of the state of Israel.
> Reading historical accounts of the conflict teaches us that only the
> bugaboo changes (e.g. Nasser, the PLO, Saddam Hussein, Hizballah, Hamas,
> the Houthis, Iran, etc.)—the Israeli *modus operandi* is more or less a
> constant--maximal violence and aggression with little to no regard for the
> sanctity of the lives of civilian non-combatants.
>
> The Israeli state was ushered in and made possible by the intial
> displacement of the majority of Mandate Palestines Arab population during
> 1947-1949 (on these events, see Ilan Pappes book based in large part on
> official Israeli archival sources
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ethnic_Cleansing_of_Palestine). It
> behooves us to remember that about two-thirds of Gazas population are
> themselves refugees from Madate Palestine or the offspring of those
> refugees. No disconinuities there either.
>
> Regards,
>
> Salem
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Martin Wasserman
> *Sent:* Tuesday, July 22, 2025 10:23 PM
> *To:* Aram James
> *Cc:* Veenker, Vicki ; Lythcott-Haims,
> Julie ; Keith Reckdahl <
> reckdahl@yahoo.com>; Ed Lauing ;
> Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for California Democratic Delegate,
> Assembly District 23 ; Lori Meyers <
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> Mark Turner ; CityCouncil <
> CityCouncil@morganhill.ca.gov>; Michelle Bigelow <
> Michelle.Bigelow@morganhill.ca.gov>; Josh Becker ;
> assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov<
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> Gerry Gras ; EPA Today ;
> Gennady Sheyner ;
> city.council@menlopark.gov ;
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> jeff_conrad@msn.com>; Jeff Hayden ; Jay Boyarsky <
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> Donna Wallach ; Vara Ramakrishnan
> *Subject:* Re: Famine Expert: Israels Starvation of Gaza Most Minutely
> Designed and Controlled Since WWII
>
> The bias of the author is evident in the fact that the entire article
> mentions Hamas only once, in passing. Hamas could end the suffering
> tomorrow just by laying down their arms and releasing the hostages. But
> they care more about scoring propaganda points against Israel than about
> saving the lives of their own people.
>
> Martin Wasserman
>
>
> On Jul 22, 2025, at 3:08 PM, Aram James wrote:
>
>
> Famine Expert: Israels Starvation of Gaza Most Minutely Designed and
> Controlled Since WWII
>
>
> Famine Expert: Israels Starvation of Gaza Most Minutely Designed and
> Controlled Since WWII | Common Dreams
> https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.commondreams.org%2fnews%2ffamine-expert-israel-s-starvation-of-gaza-most-minutely-designed-and-controlled-since-wwii&c=E,1,jq1P4ian1rS9lfBVXYvgWgoBMOXcRbflV0FB8mzvMQdgvItMtlGBEP8DnYOwt5FBK5a0WCgg9yxdUnFSrBbzh8HoTUZFuLQuuY_tWDLn6ZH1gcPxyQ,,&typo=1
>
>
>
--
*Books you must read: *
*"Against Our Better Judgement: The hidden history of how the U.S. was used
to create Israel"*
by Alison Weir
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.againstourbetterjudgment.com%2f&c=E,1,vK7wgDI0Wk0yzSD49RoPgnDzgJMgdlz7h5Q1w5StfdtjEGEXdfEGMFHJXiytPEgDFUUne4DgQ9POQJ1Be_-Bo-JGz2L91B4gytKN9nJwSV_prrU,&typo=1
*"State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel" *
by Thomas Suarez
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fthomassuarez.com%2fSoT.html&c=E,1,UJWIRMti6tIPbfzLmbH8cM8ZaZmQapiSL84LxcriWL8Wro5osvZrBe0XFkxBwILnE_Cq5xDgOJT1Qk9U3Z52M89mLt8503MeMpFJH14mmLxosVw4GmThIhITETU,&typo=1
*"The Hundred Years War on Palestine"*
by Rashid Khalidi
*"The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine"*
by Illan Pappe
*Other important websites to visit*
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ifamericansknew.org&c=E,1,pPh7UILCLhSH5xoOT2HRI5BdHm0FhFSVmiRGFQcHZCHQYdadkOzYbbP12TCf0HNcUb0duQk-roP21yDdNoHBZLVMzr59b9iwNa7lazWz_X1ExkFpilyRhQ,,&typo=1
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwearenotnumbers.org%2f&c=E,1,vSSx5l0R79QDPNjKdWlznZtXsu1gLbWTxc6klcIDAlV6d2kiNKbkbp0gcnSjWD0pAskPTXRe26MV9L8L0JRBYhTucmJ5qOUK1NmfBhqjJmzuuy6m5-k,&typo=1
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2felectronicintifada.net%2f&c=E,1,6xf3wUsuI51S667_8O1xGV_E6fGNlQk4KgaxZSp44DpeB_rwzrhcqcSm3YvEhjqsuPkj0pXptyVOZolnVjRVNsUJpTPQ29x3vjPEEb3jSRnRzwI,&typo=1
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.palestinechronicle.com&c=E,1,1p76rd-lVCIhuQN6yscIQya8jZK33K2u9VxfAeTVQ0DlOBSan7zjk0AiRUY6nBNGke2m0GxkiFPjX61-JZH4hNy-_LnCz5MYP2bhrYRGzYqiE7HO&typo=1
*End the illegal Blockade/Siege/collective punishment on Gaza!*
*Tear down all the Apartheid Walls in West Bank & Gaza!Tear down all the
illegal checkpoints throughout the West Bank!*
*End the illegal War Criminal Settler-Colonial Apartheid Terrorist Israeli
Occupation of all of Historic Palestine!*
*Right to Return to their homes and land in Historic Palestine for all
Palestinians!End all U.S. aid to Israel*
*Free Palestine! Long Live Palestine!*
*Support Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) & *
*Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
(PACBI) Campaigns!*
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.bdsmovement.net&c=E,1,0VOu53xhKnzgmhCx2Ur-zKkfwiWcU6KUf9UpB3u5L9A0pwFmcF9ACqx2uSqERfb-1b4boYPanyoniwNq96STGBCO8yB1lKdaBYuROMZIvu7OB_g9EwgxD10,&typo=1
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.WhoProfits.org&c=E,1,GDI65MkjKveHC7ScKgKcpv8gA0k2_sSoxF0sUAkKlGcbxXR35TqswMf2yJNp_j7nOvxWyQLsTQDCv0rVn6ioaPjQ_F8W3Xym4MYygBkdhnYThAeSSdKHe95x&typo=1
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pacbi.org&c=E,1,gAgwGAXegVPOBt9S1VZEyLtvhmqan_JQkJslQipmBW_XFHhitev0P6Fb2pc326bjAmS4vaYdFP78ut4_WWnDn7SNppoc1MHkb5FAFe_u6dZ7piPtDGD4JO_k&typo=1
*Support Solidarity with the Freedom Flotilla - We will sail until
Palestine is Free!*
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2ffreedomflotilla.org%2f&c=E,1,CDylFVsOj3CLqe7qi317Bkqe07RzveWNE8mkPUdDTxnEQdqfxuDbuOyXPYrIhFaIGozmOCptQb5WXbvKyL5UZ79SR7llbyVWWFuQsN3SX4VdDgw-YDN61Vtkf04,&typo=1
*Support ISM volunteers in West Bank and Gaza Strip!*
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.palsolidarity.org&c=E,1,oIe8vCX69kBMzS9kyHmIGkPRMKtuk8bxovvuK33foP6xpfqM8RoKMeKTnQISLzeAa4DF9DzQs3oIvmgGTefmFOFzOmduJciWJPFuff7WcYVo3hEc1ovE&typo=1
Donna Wallach
c ats4jazz@gmail.com
Skype: palestinewillbe
Twitter: @PalestineWillBe
(cell) 408-569-6608