WEIRD Read, Uri Geller and the Amazing Psycodelic CIA

Every once in a while, a BIZARRE article is just what we need for "entertainment". I don't normally post things like this, but honestly, this article is straight out of the Twilight Zone.

Here goes, get a bag of popcorn, and enjoy the WEIRD read!

"Forget the paranormal!"

Markus Kompa 05.02.2008

TV-Mystifier Uri Geller on his experiences with the CIA, his work for an Israeli and Palestina rescue service, the war in Lebanon, his novel "Ella" - and his advice to forget spoon bending ...

Last year Telepolis brought a short bio on Uri Geller, that was critisizing the media, but could have been allegded itself because it didn´t used an important source: Uri Geller himself. This was made good by meeting the worldfamous spoonbender in Cologne, where he is living for two monthes to realize his current tv-show. Between a trip to the hospital and his appearance in an a talkshow he took the time to give Telepolis an interview concerning political matters..

O.K. Uri. Let's start by talking about your dealings with the shady world of intelligence. In 1972 you got a direct call from Robert Gates. Then a controversial CIA director, today Secretary of Defence. What did he want from you?

Uri Geller: First of all it was a direct call, yes. And I think you are wrong. Why do you say "Gates"? I think it was Bill Casey.

O.K.

Uri Geller: Unless. Where did you get this information from?

I think I took it from an interview with you. I will research it if you want.

Uri Geller: Do a research. Because I got a direct call from Bill Casey, and he asked me a question. He was in Washington, I was in Palo Alto. And he said, "Mr. Geller. I'm holding something in my hand. Can you tell me what it is?" It took me a little time, and I said to him, "You are holding a dagger, and it has an ivory handle." And I think his words were, "I'll be darned.", and he closed the phone.

This was in 1972?

Uri Geller: I can't remember dates, exactly.

I ask because you became famous in the USA a year later.

Uri Geller: More or less. I can't remember when this call was, you know I don't keep a diary. But there are of course other calls that I can't talk to you about. I cannot. Because of certain things. But if you want to know the development of the CIA thing, it's very interesting. And first of all, I know and there's no doubt in my mind that part of the work that I did at Stanford was financed by the American Defence Department.

Today this is proven.

Uri Geller: Yes, by an agency called ARPA. Anyhow, when I think they saw this is amazing, what I do. Then, they contacted me. The first contact was in Mexico City, to the best of my recollection. It was a CIA agent, and he told me, "I'm a CIA agent, we want you to work." You know, I was very excited about this because I was young, and it was like a movie for me. It was like an unbelievable experience. Wow! To work for the CIA. And then I started getting tasks. To spy on the Russian embassy, to erase floppy disks that were attached to KGB agents in diplomatic pouches. They used to take floppy disks out of Mexico City on an Aeromexico flight to Paris.

In Paris they would change the plane and fly to Russia with Aeroflot. And I would fly with them, and sit in the first class cabin, and I would concentrate on the diplomatic pouch. There are many other tasks that I cannot talk about. They wanted me to meet Henry Kissinger. So I met Henry Kissinger in Mexico. I met very interesting and unusual people. And the CIA always had a wish list. They always told me what they want me to do.

In those days the CIA had a few problems with Kissinger because the White House and the CIA didn't like each other. It's interesting that the CIA ordered you to meet Kissinger.

Uri Geller: Yes, I won't tell you why! I did say "meet". I said they wanted me to "meet" Kissinger. I met him. I have actually a picture with with Kissinger.

Too bad that you're the mind reader, not me.

Uri Geller: So, then there was another very interesting thing that they did. They said to me that they wanted me to meet President Carter to invest millions of Dollars in psychical research. So I said to them, "How do you want me to do it?" This was when he was President elect, not yet sworn in as President. So they said to me, "We will arrange for you to go to the White House on the day of the inauguration, and you talk to him there." "How are you going to get me into the White House?" "Don't worry." And to make a long story short, a girl came into my life and she arranged it, and on the day of inauguration, I and Shippi were in the White House. So Carter was standing, I went to Carter, and I took his hand like this, and I held it, and he said, "Oh, Uri Geller you are the guy who can find oil. Can you find oil for us?" And I said, "Yes, maybe." Then I looked into his eyes, and still holding his hand, I was sending him a message, "Invest eight million Dollars in psychical research." I really believed that I could do it. I bombarded him. After that, he became the President, and he gave the money. This is a true story.

And then in Mexico, when I found oil, the CIA said to me to come close to the Mexican President. To become friends. For many reasons I can't tell you why. But, I remember, the Mexican President made me a secret agent for the Mexican treasury. I actually had a card, it was metal, where I was Uri Geller, secret, it doesn't say "secret", but it said, "special agent for the treasury department". And when President Lopez Portillo gave me a gun as a gift, a beautiful silver with gold carving, Colt 38, I said to him, "I can't take it to New York because there are gun laws" and his chief said to me, "Yes you can, because you are an agent, and Mexican agents have a treaty they can take guns into New York. So when I arrived at Kennedy I said, "I have a gun, and this is my card", and I will never forget this, the guy in Kennedy said, "Oh, Mr. Geller, I can see the card but I have to take the gun, and I will check it out, and if it's o.k. we will return it." It's so unusual that a guy comes as a treasury department agent, and with a gun! So the next morning somebody knocked on my apartment door, "Mr. Geller we have the gun back for you."

You found oil in Mexico. How did you do this?

Uri Geller: Wait. There are more interesting things with the FBI. Some of the other things that they asked me to do that I can talk about now, is to convince Russian diplomats to defect to the West. So they made parties. The FBI arranged parties, for Russian diplomats in Long Island. And these were very exclusive parties. I would go round and talk to the diplomats, and "send them" to come to defect

finding oil in a paranormal way

Now in Mexico how did I find oil? I was in Los Pinos which is the White House of Mexico, with President Echeverría. And President Echeverría, somewhere heard that I can go like that, just with my hand (Uri gestures). So he brought his oil minister, I can't remember his name. Serrano! Diaz Serrano. And Diaz Serrano said to me, "Uri, if you can find oil for Pemex this is fantastic." Pemex is the national oil company. So I said to him,... and then I did a little demonstration. I said, "I will go out of the room, take olive oil, put it somewhere in the room and I will find it." So I went out, after two minutes I came back, and I went like this (Uri gestures) in the room, and I said, "It's in here." And it was true. He had poured the olive oil into a plant, on the window.

And then he said to me, "What do you need?" I said, "I need a helicopter or a plane. I need some maps. And I need to talk to the geologists." "No problem." In the coming weeks he arranged me maps and geologists, I spoke to them. And I went up with an aeroplane, the map on my leg. And I went like that (Uri Gestures), and I said, "Here I feel it". And I took my marker, and I put an "X". And then came the report in the New York Financial Times or New York Wall Street Journal, I can't remember now. I have the article, the biggest off shore oil found in the Gulf of Mexico, and this was the same place. The Mexican president said, "Uri, you've done such an amazing thing for us, I want you to become a Mexican citizen. And he made me a Mexican citizen and I have a Mexican passport.

You are a Mexican citizen and...

Uri Geller: I'm a British citizen now, but also an Israeli citizen. But I have a Mexican passport. It's number one. Because nobody can get a Mexican passport if you're not born in Mexico. So the president has to sign the Carta Naturalization.

Red Crystal

Fascinating. Even today, you are sometimes involved in politics. For example, in 2005 you headed a London pressure group, "Friends of Magen David Adom", the Israeli ambulance organization similar to the "International Red Cross" and "Red Crescent Movement". Magen David Adom was not accepted by the Red Cross or the Red Crescent at the time and there were some problems with the religious symbols of the organizations. How did you deal with the problem?

Uri Geller: First of all, how did I get involved? The chairman of Magen David Adom, Dr. Noam Ifrach, was watching a BBC-documentary about me called "Reputations." In this documentary I was saying how the head of the American foreign relations committee Senator Claiborne Pell asked me to go with Ambassador Max Kampelman, to bombard the Russians to sign the nuclear treaty. So I went to Geneva, and Al Gore was there, and I did it and it worked. And I told this story on the BBC. So the chairman of Magen David Adom, Dr. Noam Ifrach said "Wow! Uri Geller is the right person for us." So he called me and he said "Uri, we would like you to help Magen David Adom." I said "Come to my house, let´s talk about it!" I thought they wanted money for a donation.

When they arrived, he said "No, no, we don´t want your money, we want your talent. So I said: "What´s going on? He said "One: we are not accepted by the organisation of the International Red Cross for 59 years. Two: We have a problem with the Palestinians. We cannot come to an agreement. Can you help us? So I said: "Look, I will help you, take me to all the meetings, let me start meeting the Palestinians. So Dr. Noam Ifrach said, "We have to make you a legal representative." So the lawyers of Magen David Adom made me officially the President of the "Friends of Magen David Adom". Officially, you can do it, it´s not illegal. This allowed me legally to go and be in the negotiations. This was a long process. Dr. Noam Ifrach and I had to contact the State Department, Condoleezza Rice, we had to contact Arik Sharon, Israeli government, we had to contact the Israeli foreign minister and we had to contact the Red Cross in Geneva. This was complex. It took us a year and a half.

But it was not only me; it was the effort of everybody. It was the effort of the American Red Cross - I have a lot of negotiations with the President of the American Red Cross, Ambassador Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, with the chief of the legal State Department, John Bellinger, with the Israelis, and – who helped us unbelieveably – was Micheline Calmy-Rey, who later became the President of Switzerland. She was then the Foreign Minister. We went to the Palestinians to negotiated this.

You see, there was one really big problem, which I was very angry about: When you had a palestiniam child who was injured, or if you had a palestinian pregnant woman, and they have to go to hospital, they would always go to the checkpoint and then they were stopped. Sometimes a pregnant woman would sit in the car for two hours. This is inhumane. This is unacceptable. Whether you are Israeli or Arab, this is unacceptable. So this was part of the problem. How do we get rid of the checkpoints for injured and pregnant women? So part of the negotiations was this. The Palestinians wanted five Red Crescent-ambulances in Jerusalem. So this was kind of political humanitarianism, it was very difficult to achieve.

And then came the big negotiations in Geneva with Michelin Calmy-Rey. We were sitting around the table, Palestinians, Israelis, there was no talk, it was all cold. And I said to Michelin Calmy-Rey: "Tell the maitre dee to bring me a spoon." She said to me: "Uri, a spoon? You want to bend a spoon in these negotiations? And I said "Yes." So he came with a silver spoon, and I took the spoon and showed it to the Palestinians, I think seven Palestinians, big high chairmen of the Red Crescent, and I said "Look at the spoon", and I went like this. And the spoon bent – it freaked them out. This started going "Wow! What is this? And they started laughing, and suddenly the wall was broken: we could start talking to each other. I put my hand on the palestinian´s shoulder – there are many pictures on my website from these negotiatons.

So it was suddenly working. And it was the result of entertainment, charisma, personality, and niceness. And then, after six months, Israel was accepted into the Red Cross Movement after 59 years of exclusion. Palestinians can now have ambulances in Jerusalem, and pregnant women and sick children from Palestine don´t have to wait anymore in the checkpoints. There is a fast track for them. They go straight on. So for me this was the best achievement in my life.

Please tell us about the symbols!

Uri Geller: Yes. You see, when you have a country with war, religious symbols can make more trouble, like the Star of David or the Red Cross, it is a religious symbol. So they had to change it and create one symbol that is neutral. So they chose the Red Crystal, you know I have crystal jewellery, and this was very interesting. Now all the nations accepted the third protocol, which is the Red Crystal. In countries where there is war, yes, you don´t have to put the Red Cross, you don't have to put the Red Crescent, you don´t have to put the Red Star, you can put the Red Crystal.

I've heard you designed it personally?

Uri Geller: No, it was designed by somebody in Geneva. But, you know, I´m into crystals, so maybe I had some influence. Who knows? And remember what I told you, it's not me alone. It was the effort of everybody together, and when Michelin Calmy-Rey was making the speech for all the press, she said "There were a lot of bent spoons on the way to signing this agreement."

I heard that these ambulances don´t carry guns on board.

Uri Geller: Yes, one of the conditions was that in the Israeli ambulances there will be no guns. And we agreed. So now there are no guns in the ambulances. This is a big step. Big step.

War in Lebanon

Since then, there's been a terrible war in the region. Did it work during the war?

Uri Geller: Look, when the war started, on day one of the war, the morning I woke up in London, in my village, and I said "Hannah, there is a war. Let´s go to Israel!" So we got on a plane, the same day, and I flew to the war. Hannah and I and Shippi, we went into Lebanon. You know the man who owns ESTÉE LAUDER? You know Ron Lauder?

No.

Uri Geller: He is a billionaire. He gave me his armoured car, a big van. So Hannah and I and Shippi we drove up to the war and went into Lebanon. And I was there in the war. Bombs exploding, unbelievable! And we were there with the troops. If there were ambulances for these? It's impossible, there was so much mess there... But I was there to see everything. Then Dr. Noam Ifrach and I was there to open the gate for the chairmen of the Red Cross from Geneva, Jakob Kellenberger, who came to see Beirut, how Israel destroyed Beirut, and he also came to Israel to see how the Katyusha's and rockets destroyed a lot of towns in Israel. And I greeted him at the border in Rosh Hanikra.

And the idea with the ambulances kept working during the war?

Uri Geller: It´s now working, absolutely. You know, it´s agreed now, and also the ambulances are in Jerusalem – Palestinian ambulances! Do you understand the political significance? That you have actually in Israel's Jerusalem, five or six or ten Palestinian ambulances.

And they are not considered to be spies or ...?

Uri Geller: This was always a problem, because one would not be sure. I said "Look, this is a humanitarian organisation. Magen David Adom, the Red Cross an the Red Crescent are humanitarian organisations." And I must tell you one very important thing: The Israeli state department at one point said "No signing!" And we asked "Why! What´s going on?" "Because we can´t give the green light, only Arik Sharon can." So I said "But it´s a few hours from now? Where is Arik Sharon?" "He´s sleeping!" And I said: "Give me his telephone number!" So they say "We cannot." And we had to call the White House, and we had to call Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, the president of the Red Cross. I said "Bonnie, we have got to find from the White House the secret number of Arik Sharon, we have to wake him up, because he is the only person who can give the green light to sign with the Palestinians."

She did a miracle: She found the number, we called Arik Sharon, he woke up, and they told him "Arik, you have all the documents on the table, please go quickly and look at them! He went, he looked, he sat for one hour, he called up Geneva, he says: "OK, you have the green light!" This was just a few months just before he went into a to coma. It was unbelievable, because we thought, this is it ... Everybody was sitting upstairs. CNN, NBC, CBS, all ready for Michelin Calmy-Rey and all the dignitaries to sign, and suddenly they say "No". So Arik Sharon, at the last moment, gave the green light.

Now you know the story, because nobody knows this.

Obviously your work for this rescue service seems to correspond to your sad experiences in the Six Day War. You were wounded in that war?

Uri Geller: You know I just came back from hospital, you know I injured my hand. Did you see the last show?

Of course.

Uri Geller: You don't know what happened to me? I will show you! Because in the war, I was injured here. See? When I took the cigarette box, remember in the show? I threw it with my left hand, and look: I´m injured, see? It's swollen.

Attacked by cigarettes!

Uri Geller: So I had to go to the hospital and have an x-ray. Because I had a doctor in my room yesterday to check it. It´s swollen because of this former injury I can only open my hand up to here. And when I threw the cigarette box into the crowd I stretched it very hard. So I just came back from this hospital here. You see how swollen it is? Look at the difference!

Now I can see it.

Uri Geller: So the doctor said I tore the ligament. So I was wounded in the war. (He shows his arms and his forehead.) It went into the bone, but it didn't go into the brain. What was the question?

Is this the reason why you are so involved in the rescue service-thing?

Uri Geller: Yes, yes. You see, after the war, when I became famous, at first I was obsessed with guns. Me and Frank Sinatra were the only two people in New York City that had a license for seven guns. I have carried guns here, here and here guns, everywhere. (Shows some places where the guns were hidden.) I was crazy. Crazy with the guns. I used to walk in the street with seven guns. And then, I realized, my God, what am I doing?

This is completely new to me. Interesting!

Ella

Let´s change the subject: You are known for your experience in dealing with the media. I was especially astonished to read that you wrote a novel called "Ella", that complains about improper journalism and silly PR stunts. The protagonist of the novel is a 14-year old girl with psychokinetic abilities. Ella is used by almost everyone to get attention, money and sensation. Why did you write about these things?

Uri Geller: Well, because, Markus, first of all, Ella has powers that I don´t have. I wanted always to have the power of levitation. I cannot do it. So I gave it to Ella. And then, because I know how the press works.

Definitely.

Uri Geller: Exactly. This is exactly what happens around Ella. And this is exactly an example of my life. That´s it. It´s very simple.

You wrote the book – now appearing in German for the first time - ten years ago when your real daughter had passed Ella´s age. Did she also start to levitate like Ella in the book?

Uri Geller: No, but she is on the cover of the book.

It´s her?

Uri Geller: The English book. That´s Natalie, on the cover of the English book. On the German book it´s a blonde a model. Ella is a very powerful novel and is going to be a movie now. Because it is the psychology also of the press, of money, of power, of somebody who wants to own you for power. And this happened to me at the beginning of my career. Andrija Puharich, he owned me.

You know, Andrija made me sign a contract, I gave all my life away in this contract to Andrija. I was naive. Andrija thought I was like a kind of a messenger from extraterrestrials, it was crazy. Then when the book "Uri" came out in England, I said to Andrija, " Andrija, I will only promote the book, if you tear up the contract. I don´t want to be a prisoner." And he tore up the contract. You see, Andrija made Uri Geller. He took me to the CIA, he and Edgar Mitchell, he was the one who came to Israel. And I owe a lot to Andrija.

You made public that you had problems with bulimia like your fictional character Ella. Why did you choose to reveal such a private problem to the public?

Uri Geller: Because there are lot of men who have bulimia, but they are secretive about it, they're ashamed. They die. A lot of men.

They die?

Uri Geller: Of course. You die from bulimia if you don´t stop. And when I came out with this – because I was so thin. I couldn't lie, that I´m running around New York, exercising. People saw me. Because I´m a thin person anyhow. Can you imagine how thin I was with bulimia? I revealed it on a big american tv-show. I said I have bulimia. Then I got letters from men: "Oh Mr Geller, thank you very much for saying it. I have bulimia and I´m hiding it from my family. And You help me in a big way." So it was very good.

Mystifier

The story of "Ella"deals in a critical way with both religious fanatics and nasty know-it-all-skeptics. What can you say about this?

Uri Geller: Because I live it. It´s been all my life. And you know what I also want to answer something that ... I get emails, yes, they ask me, "Oh Uri, is it true, that you said that you're not a >psychic to a German magic magazine?" And this is my answer – listen very carefully: I never said that I´m not a psychic. You must listen to my words. Read my words, what I said.

I said to this German magazine, so what I did say, that I changed my character, to the best of my recollection, and I no longer say that I do supernatural things. I doesn´t mean that I don´t have powers. It means that I don´t say "it's supernatural", I say "I´m a mystifier!" That´s what I said. And the skeptics turned it around and said, "Uri Geller said he's a magician!" I never said that. And I will never say that. Even Criss Angel asked me in an interview on his show. "Are you a magician?" I said "No, what do you want? I'm a mystifier." "But can you bend a spoon if I put a spoon on the table?" "Yes, I can bend a spoon with a trick, but that doesn´t mean that I don´t have powers. People want to hear and write what they want to hear, not what I say.

You often get emails from young people who've discovered their paranormal abilities and ask you for advice. What do you tell them?

Uri Geller: I tell them the following: Forget the paranormal! Wait, I want to show you something. (Scrolls his handheld pc.) Because I get emails all the time. From young children, and youngsters, and say ..., One moment, I want you to read an email. Look! (Reads an email) This is a 12-year old kid, Finn, and he wrote to me "I want to know how you do it!" And I said: "Forget the paranormal. Forget spoon bending! Instead of that, focus on school! Become a positive thinker! Believe in yourself and create a target! Go to university! Never smoke! And never touch drugs! And think of success! " This is my message. To every 12-year-old, 13-year-old. 14-year-old.

The age of Ella, by the way.

Uri Geller: The age of Ella.

Even today we have a few obscure German scientists who seem to consider your current entertainment-show "The next Uri Geller" on ProSieben to be a scientific programme and fulminate against You. What do you think of them?

Uri Geller: I don´t care about them. They only give us great publicity! This is great! I will be worried when they don´t talk about me! You remember what I said to you about Oscar Wilde? There's only one thing worse than being talked about and that's not being talked about. I will be then very worried when suddenly they stop speaking about Uri Geller. Then I know it´s the end of Uri Geller.

Okay. This will never happen!

Uri Geller: Probably never!

You've been living in London for two decades now, despite having grown up in Cyprus and Israel, and you have a Mexican passport. So why did you choose London to be your home?

Uri Geller: It´s not London, it´s a small village outside London. I don´t know if it was a coincidence. I was flying – You know who Richard Branson is?

Yes, I do.

Uri Geller: I was flying with Richard Branson when he opened his new airline. He said to me "Uri, I want you to come with me for the inauguration flight." So we flew from London to New York, and next to me was sitting Clement Freud who is directly descended from Sigmund Freud, his brother is Lucien Freud, a very famous painter. And Clement said to me "Uri, I understand you are related to Sigmund Freud," and he said, "Where do You live?" And I said, "I live in New York." And he said to me, "You should come to live in England. It´s more civilized and your children can go to British schools."

And you know I thought, "Wow. I've been living in New York for ten years. That's a long time. Maybe we should go to England. And then I spoke to Hannah, and Hannah said, "You know what? It will be nice if Daniel and Natalie can go to British schools. And that was the decision. Then we went to live in England. And I´m very happy there, because I live in a village and there is no pollution, and my children now are big. My son went to LSE - London School of Economics, and now he is a lawyer, a barrister. He is coming here. In two weeks. And Natalie is coming too.

A last question: Our magazine is known for critical journalism, so I´m sorry that I can´t avoid this hard question: How often do you meet your almost London-neighbour and magical colleague Harry Potter?

Uri Geller: Ha, ha, ha. I wish I could. You know that I meet David Berglas a lot. And just last month I have a new neighbour. Do you know the band Led Zeppelin?

Sure.

Uri Geller: Jimmy Page has moved next door to me. You know Jimmy Page, the guitarist from Led Zeppelin? Maybe he is the real Harry Potter! I don´t meet Harry Potter, I would like to meet him! I believe in Harry Potter!

Me too! Uri, thank You very much for the interview!

Source

The Loneliness of the One Issue Voter

The loneliness of the One-Issue Voter
Laurie King-Irani, The Electronic Intifada, 4 February 2008

The road to the White House goes through Jerusalem: Then Israeli prime
minister Ariel Sharon meets with US Senator Hillary Clinton in
Jerusalem, November 2005. (Inbal Rose/MaanImages)

Although I am now officially middle-aged, only once have I felt the
excitement of waking up to the joyous news that my candidate won the US
presidential elections. That was way back in 1992 when Bill Clinton was
first elected.

I was living in Nazareth, conducting my dissertation research. When I
found out Clinton had been elected, I let out a whoop of joy and
believed that a new era of sanity, justice and decency had dawned.

Several months later, I began to wonder. While at a conference in
Jerusalem I picked up a copy of New York Times. The lead story in the
magazine, entitled "St. Hillary," featured a cover photo of Hillary
Clinton dressed completely in white and looking quite self-righteous.
In the course of reading the article, I learned that while in Law
School at Yale, Hillary had decided, during a classroom debate about
Palestine/Israel, that some people were "simply evil," and thus had no
rights because they undertook terrorist actions. (I'm not sure if she
was still a registered Republican back then ...)

I wished my Palestinian friends and neighbors could sit and chat with
Hillary Clinton for a little while about the daily realities and
systematic discrimination that they faced then -- and face even more so
now -- under occupation. Now a particularly exciting election year is
upon us. Before the Democratic race narrowed down to Obama and Clinton,
I was rooting for Dennis Kucinich, because his message resonated with
my "Big Issue": fair, just, and sane US foreign policies in the Middle
East and outrage at the treatment of the Palestinian people.

There are lots of "One Issue Voters" out here: those who decide to
support a candidate based on the sole criterion of abortion, or
taxation, or gun control, or crime. For those of us who fall into the
"Pro-Palestinian Rights" category of One Issue Voter-hood, it's a
particularly lonely and dispiriting time. It's as though there's this
big progressive celebration going on, but we haven't been invited.

Discussing the upcoming elections with friends and colleagues is
uncomfortable. Should one support Hillary because she's likely to win
the nomination anyway, and because it's imperative to get the
Republicans out of the White House? Should one support Obama because he
represents a challenge to the ossified cadres of Clintonites who assume
that they are entitled to the presidency simply because they have
amassed the money and the elite backing to waltz back into the White
House? Should one support Republican Ron Paul, because he promises to
cut all aid to Israel and end US intervention in the Middle East?
Should those of us who care passionately about the human rights of
Palestinians, Lebanese and Iraqis try to be "realistic" and vote for
which ever candidate seems most likely to regain the White House and
restore respect for the Constitution?

It annoys me that so many people I speak with say "Palestinian rights?
Come on! Get real! No one can run for any office and succeed if they
bring up that issue! There are other pressing crises that are much more
important!" And they are not wrong to say so. Class disparities in the
US are growing. Health care and insurance reform are absolutely
crucial.

Looking at Obama's and Clinton's stances on some of these pressing
issues, I should be excited. I just can't get mobilized and committed,
though, because both have shown utter spinelessness about the key issue
at the heart of the United States' misguided, destructive, and unjust
policies in the Middle East: The question of Palestine. On the
Republican side, frontrunner John McCain has recently gone out of his
way to emphasize his decades-long record of unconditional support for
Israel.

This is not a marginal, fringe issue to be swept aside. The fact that
no candidate dares to speak out against US-funded Israeli violations of
international humanitarian law and a raft of UN resolutions is a
primary index of something horribly wrong at the heart of American
politics.

Last summer, I watched a CNN broadcast during which the Democratic
hopefuls underwent a cable catechism examination administered by
Soledad O'Brien. Former Senator John Edwards and Clinton were grilled
on their personal faith and how it has helped them in their private
lives.

Obama got the booby-trapped political question: "Are Palestinians
treated badly by Israel?" His answer was lame, and appeared
ill-informed. Given that he is probably not ill-informed, however, it
might have been dishonest. Obama responded that "although Palestinians
are often put in situations that we would not want our own families to
endure," it was sadly necessitated by the paramount need to safeguard
Israelis from dangerous terrorists.

Obama is a lawyer. He should know something about the Geneva
Conventions. He should know a bit about Israeli violations of
international law, and the dozens of UN resolutions that have
criticized the Israeli government and called for an end to the
occupation.

Despite increasing activism, the existence of alternative news media,
and growing public discomfort with the Bush administration' s Middle
East misadventures, it's really disappointing that an attractive
front-runner in this key election did not feel secure enough to tell
the truth. The public is way out in front of Congress on this issue,
but given the demands of campaign funding and the fear of the sorts of
underhanded attacks that AIPAC (the American Israeli Public Action
Committee, i.e., the pro-Israel lobby) inflicts on those who deviate
from a pro-Israeli narrative, anyone who hopes to attain office in
Washington, DC is held hostage to the lobby's single-minded goal of
assuring unconditional support for Israel no matter how badly it
behaves.

There are those who say the lobby is not really that strong, serves as
a bete noire for people who are possibly anti-Semitic, or is simply a
healthy expression of active citizen participation in the US
legislative process. Of course the lobby does not single-handedly
control US foreign policy, but the depressing reality is that few
candidates have the spinal fortitude to diverge from its narrative or
to question its aims at election time.

Many -- even most -- in the American Jewish community are indifferent
to or appalled by AIPAC's rhetoric, so it is not even representative of
Jewish voters in the US.

And as depressing as the political scene may appear, this is where hope
and opportunity lie. If concerned Americans want to support the rule of
law at home and abroad, and support peace with justice around the
world, they could find few better starting points than joining the
international campaign to end the Israel's occupation of the West Bank
and Gaza Strip and other abuses. This means loudly opposing the
unconditional diplomatic and military support that successive
administrations have given to Israel, and challenging the candidates at
every opportunity to respond directly to the mountain of factual
evidence of Israel's abuses. This will not bear fruits in one election
cycle, but it has to start.

Survey after survey shows that around the world, US support for Israeli
violations remains a key motivator of anti-American sentiment. And yet
in this country there's not even a debate about it among our leaders.
Americans need to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ongoing
Israeli infractions of international law through its occupation of
Palestinian lands more openly and critically. Brave and honest
presidential candidates can and should be at the forefront of such
needed political discussions.

If raising these issues, and using them as important criteria for
choosing which presidential candidate to support, is a "non-starter"
beyond the pale of acceptable political discourse in the Democratic or
Republican parties then there really are no grounds for the excitement
and rhetoric about change and transformation surrounding this election.
There's no easy answer for the voter who cares about justice in
Palestine. Yes, we should vote, but our activism has to go beyond
simply marking a ballot on election day.

Laurie King-Irani is co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and the
managing editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies in Washington, DC
and a lecturer in anthropology at Georgetown University.

http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/opeds. shtml


"Yes, we should vote, but our activism has to go beyond
simply marking a ballot on election day."

Laurie, I could NOT agree with you more!

Democrats Living in Lebanon Prepare to Vote in US Elections

First Democrats Abroad in Arab world hopes to mobilize voters, make a change, founder says

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - By the time Democrats living in Lebanon begin voting Wednesday, Super Tuesday will be history.
Nevertheless, the more than two dozen registered voters in the first Democrats Abroad chapter in the Arab world hope they will eventually have a say in the politics back home and bring about change in U.S.

policy in their region.
«The aim is to mobilize people so that both Democratic and Republican parties will realize that Americans living in the Arab world are an important constituency and that their interests should be taken seriously,» said Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous, founder of DA's Lebanon chapter.
The overseas group was formed Jan. 17, becoming the first officially recognized branch of the U.S. Democratic Party in the Arab world. There are only two others in the Middle East _ in Turkey and in Israel.
Created first in London in 1964, Democrats Abroad is an official organization of the Democratic Party for U.S. citizens living permanently or temporarily abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee. DA currently has members in more than 100 countries, with more than 30 country committees.
Sensenig-Dabbous, a professor of political science at the private Notre Dame University, said the newly formed Lebanese group was too late to participate in midterm Congressional election, but was created just in time to begin preparations for the general election this fall.
The group is also organizing a primary in Beirut for Super Tuesday, but voting will be held Wednesday evening because of the time difference _ Beirut is seven hours ahead of Eastern Time.
DA Lebanon members will meet at a bar in Beirut's trendy Gemayzeh Street, watch recordings of live coverage of the primaries and discuss preparations for November election. Computers will be set up for those who wish to vote through the Internet. Half of the group's 64 members have registered to vote in the primary _ «not a bad start,» according to Sensenig-Dabbous.
«Our goal is to get the Democratic Party to become aware that the American citizens living in the Arab world are a force to be reckoned with,» said the Lancaster, Pennsylvania native who is married to a Lebanese.

Sensenig-Dabbous believes there are some 50,000 U.S. citizens in Lebanon, 20,000 of whom are registered voters. They are mostly people with dual Lebanese-American citizenship but others include Americans working for NGOs and relief agencies.
Sensenig-Dabbous, an active member of DA in Austria for 20 years before moving here in 1999, says it is ironic that American expatriates and Lebanese-Americans living in Lebanon will be voting in the U.S. election, while Lebanese living in the U.S. cannot vote in their own elections.
He hopes the DA Lebanon voting would serve as a role model for the region and influence countries like Egypt, Jordan and even Palestinian territories. «The aim is to create a bridge between Americans in the Middle East and the people from the Middle East living in America,» he added.

Source

LINK to Democrats Abroad

Interesting Read: "For Whom Should Arab Americans Vote"? by Ghassan Rubeiz

What Was That About Jerusalem Hillary?

The San Francisco invited readers to send in questions for the major presidential candidates, prior to the California primaries on Feb. 5. Some sent in a question for all the candidates. Others were directed at a specific candidate. Below is the full text of the questions to, and answers from, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)

What is your position on Palestinian property rights?

- John Arthur Wills, 61, Oakland

Sen. Clinton: Well John, we must never question Israel's right to exist in safety as a Jewish state, with defensible borders and an undivided Jerusalem as its capital, secure from violence and terrorism. We need to continue to insist that any Palestinian government renounce terrorism and recognize Israel's right to exist. As events unfold, we need to be prepared to resume America's indispensable role in working with the Israelis and the Palestinians to find a just and lasting resolution to the conflict - and I'm ready to lead that effort.

Open Letter fo the Beatles: "Don't Let it Be"

Beatles, don't let it be! Palestinian Dispossession and Israeli Apartheid are no Cause for Celebration

PACBI | | February 2, 2008

Open Letter to the Beatles

Forty-three years ago, the government of Israel banned your performance in the country for fear you would corrupt the minds of Israeli youth. Now, Israel is extending an apology and an invitation to you, hoping you will forget the past and agree to help celebrate its 60th "birthday." The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) urges you to say no to Israel, particularly since the creation of this state 60 years ago dispossessed and uprooted hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and lands, condemning them to a life of exile and destitution.

There is no reason to celebrate! Israel at 60 is a state that is still denying Palestinian refugees their UN-sanctioned rights, simply because they are "non-Jews." It is still illegally occupying Palestinian and other Arab lands, in violation of numerous UN resolutions. It is still persistently and grossly breaching international law and infringing fundamental human rights with impunity afforded to it through munificent US and European economic, diplomatic and political support. It is still treating its own Palestinian citizens with institutionalized discrimination.

Now, more than ever, Israel is committing horrific war crimes, especially in the occupied Gaza Strip, where its illegal and immoral policy of collective punishment -- through a hermetic military siege and an almost complete blockage of fuel, electric power, and even food and medicine -- is pushing 1.5 million Palestinian civilians to the brink of starvation. Without electricity, incubators are shutting down; hospitals are fast coming to a standstill; water is not being properly purified nor separated from raw sewage; whatever is left from the local economy is undergoing a meltdown; and the most vulnerable sectors of the population, the children, the elderly, and the acutely ill, are languishing under unspeakable hardships. Do you see any reason to celebrate?

Israel's military occupation -- the longest in modern history -- is not an abstract notion to us. It manifests itself in wilful killings of civilians, particularly children; wanton demolition of homes and property; uprooting of more than a million fruitful trees; incessant theft of land and water resources; denial of freedom of movement to millions; and cutting up the occupied Palestinian territory into Bantustans, some entirely caged by walls, fences and hundreds of roadblocks.

In light of the above, performing in Israel at this time is morally equivalent to performing in South Africa at the height of the apartheid era. Indeed, Israel has created a worse system of apartheid than anything that ever existed in South Africa, according to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights Prof. John Dugard, and South African government minister Ronnie Kasrils, among others.

In 2005, inspired by the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, Palestinian civil society called for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) [1] against Israel until it fully complies with international law and recognizes the fundamental human rights of the people of Palestine. A specific call for cultural boycott of Israel [2] was issued a year later, garnering wide support. Among the many groups and institutions that have heeded the Palestinian boycott calls and started to consider or apply diverse forms of effective pressure on Israel are the British University and College Union (UCU); the two largest trade unions in the UK; the Church of England; the Presbyterian Church (USA); prominent British architects; the British National Union of Journalists (NUJ); the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU); the South African Council of Churches; the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario; Aosdana, the Irish state-sponsored academy of artists; celebrated authors, artists and intellectuals led by John Berger; and Palme d'Or winner director Ken Loach.

We strongly urge you to uphold the values of freedom, equality and just peace for all by joining this growing boycott against Israeli apartheid. Nothing less would do justice to the legendary legacy of the Beatles.

PACBI

Sunday Offering: For Our Beloved Florence

Today we gathered together for Florence. For all those who have lost a loved one........
A beautiful poem by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, a great thinker who lived in the 12th century. This video is set to music by Fayrouz and the Rabhani Brothers called Habaytek.