Saturday, February 27, 2010

600 more homes constructed in illegal settlements...quel suprise!

Quel suprise. Israel building another 600 houses in illegally occupied East Jerusalem. Will wonders never cease.

Excerpt:
An Israeli planning committee has pushed forward plans for 600 new homes in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. (Source: BBC News, Feb 26/2010)

Defend free speech on Palestine! Tell your MPPs you oppose their decision to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week.

From endapartheid@riseup.net on Feb 26/2010:

*Please forward widely*

Defend free speech on Palestine!
Tell your MPPs you oppose their decision to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week.

Members of the Ontario legislature passed a unanimous motion on February 25 that condemns Israel Apartheid Week (IAW), a series of campus-based educational events that takes place on university campuses all over the world (full text of motion below).

This is an unprecedented attack on free speech in Ontario. But it is also a clear sign of the strength and exponential growth of the Palestinian led solidarity campaign grounded in the 2005 call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel.

What is unfortunate about this motion, in addition to blatant attack on freedom of expression, is that it shows lack of understanding of the concept of Apartheid and the realities of life in Israel/Palestine. No one knows what apartheid looks like more than the people of South Africa, and in South Africa, IAW is taking place in at least three cities, under the banner of "Apartheid for One is Apartheid for All". It is being co-organized by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), one of the main bodies which significantly contributed to the demise of apartheid in South Africa. In Quebec, Dr. Jamal Zahalka, a Palestinian leader who will be the keynote speaker for IAW, will be presented before a full session of the National Assembly of Quebec. It is really unfortunate that the Ontario Legislature decided to condemn IAW without knowing what it is, and without even attempting to hear the organizers.

Please follow the steps below to let your MPPs know that you oppose this attack on free speech and the Palestine solidarity movement.

E-mailing is the fastest and easiest way to contact MPPs. Just follow these steps:

Step 1:

Cut and paste the e-mail addresses of the entire Ontario legislature into your "To" line (If your e-mail account can't e-mail this many addresses at once, try sending your e-mail to a smaller block of addresses one at a time. You may have to send several e-mails in order to reach all MPPs.). Please note that this list includes both Queen's Park and constituency office e-mail addresses.

NOTE: In addition to e-mail, it is important for MPPs receive phone calls and office visits all day tomorrow - voice your opposition in all possible ways.

MPP's emails can be found here.

Step 2:
Don't forget to fill out your subject line:

I oppose your decision to condemn IAW. I support free speech in Ontario.

Step 3:

Cut and paste the message below. Feel free to personalize it with your own words. And don't forget to include your name at the bottom. If you know the name of your MPP, address your e-mail to her/him.

Dear Members of the Provincial Parliament:

I am writing in response to your decision to support a motion on February 25 that condemns Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), a series of campus-based educational events that takes place annually on campuses all over the world.

The motion, which was introduced by Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill), is an unprecedented attack on free speech in Ontario. I condemn and oppose your decision to support such a motion.

IAW has grown in size and scope since it was first launched on campuses in Toronto in 2005, and now includes dozens of events in over 50 cities worldwide including 3 cities in South Africa. IAW is marked by its inclusive and diverse nature, its respect for discussion and debate, and its call for peaceful solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict. IAW has been endorsed and supported by dozens of organizations including student unions, trade unions, faith groups, and Jewish solidarity organizations.

The term "apartheid" is not a hateful one, nor is it on the "margins" of mainstream debate. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter uses the term in his best-selling book Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid. South African anti-apartheid campaigners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Willie Madisha, regularly use the term "apartheid" to describe the conditions in which Palestinians live both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories. The term is also used widely inside Israel itself: former Israeli Prime Minister and current Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently used the term in a speech about the consequences of stalled peace talks.

The conditions in which Palestinians live clearly meet the definition of "apartheid" as described by the United Nations. The increasingly differential system of roads, housing, laws, access to resources, basic rights, living conditions, and quality of life between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians all point to a system of apartheid. Palestinians have the right to describe these conditions in the way they experience them.

You may disagree with such an analysis, but you have no right to limit or restrict Palestinians and their supporters from expressing a completely legitimate perspective. Your decision to condemn IAW represents a serious setback for free speech in Ontario, and should be reconsidered. The Ontario legislature should not be in the business of censorship.

I urge to rethink your position, to become more informed about this issue, and to demonstrate support for free speech in Ontario – including for those political perspectives with which you might disagree.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Step 4:
Press send!
If you get a response from you MPPs, please let us know. Forward e-mail responses to endapartheid@riseup.net

Israeli Apartheid Week begins next week on campuses across Ontario despite this motion. For city schedules please check: www.apartheidweek.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Private Members Motion 93 Reads
That, in the opinion of this House, the term Israel Apartheid Week is condemned as it serves to incite hatred against Israel, a democratic state that respects the rule of law and human rights, and the use of the word 'apartheid' in this context diminishes the suffering of those who were victims of a true apartheid regime in South Africa.

Write to Protest Nomination of Gerard Latulippe for President of NGO Rights and Democracy

The Harper Government is moving Canada step-by-step, institution-by-institution towards a slant in favour of injustice and a bias squarely in favour of the the Zionist regime.

Do something by writing to Protest the Nomination of Gerard Latulippe for President of NGO Rights and Democracy. Details here.

One Minute Action: McGuinty goes to Israel

Action is required here, details below:

From endapartheid@lists.riseup.net - Feb 22/2010

*PLEASE POST WIDELY*

The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) is calling on our allies to join us in telling Premier Dalton McGuinty that Ontario should not be doing business with Israeli Apartheid.

This past week, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that he will be traveling to Israel in May 2010. McGuinty's trip is aimed at increasing Ontario's trade relations with Israel. Trade between Ontario and Israel totaled over 1.1 billion dollars in 2008. In February 2010, The Toronto Stock Exchange signed a trade agreement with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.(see http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/764362--mcguinty-off-to-israel-to-bolster-trade-links)

In 2008, Israel announced that it was launching a Rebranding Campaign aimed at promoting the 'positive side' of Israel in order to change its tarnished image by distracting the world from its war crimes and violations of international law. McGuinty's announcement of his trip to Israel is a page out of the Rebranding Campaign handbook - praising Israel's technological and medical achievements, while ignoring its apartheid policies and crimes against the Palestinian people.

McGuinty is now selling his trip to Israel as part of his plan for Ontario's recovery from the economic crisis. At the same time that he is threatening to make cuts to social assistance, transit and the entire public sector, McGuinty is going to Israel to learn important lessons from a country that has made billions from commercializing its research and technology. It is no secret that all major technology in Israel is made by or for the Israeli military. Israel is a world leader in profiting from selling the technologies of war and 'homeland security'. McGuinty wants Ontario to become more like Israel - a place where researchers and universities work hard to develop technology that is profitable for the military and big business.

CAIA is calling on our allies in Ontario to speak out against McGuinty's trip to Israel and Ontario's growing ties to Israeli Apartheid.

What can you do?

1. Take one minute to email Dalton McGuinty demanding the he cancel his trip to Apartheid Israel (sample email and contact info below).

2. Join us for Israeli Apartheid Week 2010 to learn more about the campaign of Boycott Divestment and Sanctions against Israeli Apartheid:
www.apartheidweek.org

3. Learn more about the Rebranding campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS0lVVpXjn0 (Naomi Klein speaks about Rebranding and BDS)

4. Learn more about the dangers of the commercialization of research in Israel and Canada: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9q1j_MKo1A (Video from IAW 2009 - University of Toronto President visits Israel in 2008)

5. Learn more about the McGuinty government's upcoming cuts to social programming in Ontario and what you can do to help: www.ocap.ca (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty)

SAMPLE LETTER and CONTACTS:

Send to: dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

CC: Your MPP (click link to get e-mail address from list ):
http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_current.do?locale=en

CC: Coaltion Against Israeli Apartheid atendapartheid@riseup.net

Premier Dalton McGuinty,

You recently announced your plan to travel to Israel in May 2010. Along with many people in Ontario, I am outraged that our premier is planning a trip to increase trade relations with an apartheid state. We do not want our province to be in the business of supporting Israel's war crimes and gross violations of international law.

In 2005, over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations called for people of conscience around the world to join a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law. Many organizations in Ontario, including trade unions, faith-based groups and student groups, have signed on to the BDS call. Instead of cutting ties with Israel - a state that stands accused of war crimes and crime against humanity in Gaza - your government is working hard to increase trade between Ontario and Israel. This kind of policy will send a message of support for Israeli actions and policies which are in breach of international law. Your visit will be seen as a condonation of the Israeli war crimes, and a slap on the face of the victims of war crimes. This is inimical to the universal values of human rights and dignity, and will further contribute to the perpetration of more war crimes by Israel. As a resident of Ontario, I find this to be disgraceful, and I am sure that the people of Ontario will hold your government accountable for choosing to support Israeli Apartheid.

I write to you today to strongly urge you to cancel your trip to Israel. The Ontario government should be cutting its ties to Israeli Apartheid, not working to strengthen them.

Sincerely,

Monday, February 15, 2010

The Evil of Zionism

Zionism=terrorism. Only this sort of terrorism goes unnoticed and unopposed.
Israeli settlers disobey the order to stop building

At least 29 Israeli settlements in the West Bank are violating a government-ordered pause in building activity, the Israeli Defence Ministry has said. (Source: BBC News, Feb 15/10)

Hadith al-Kisaa - Hadith of the Event of the Cloak

Sunday, February 14, 2010

More fall-out from Israel's Cast Lead offensive in Gaza

More reports continue to trickle out on Gaza's Cast Lead offensive in Gaza from nearly a year ago.

These reports come from such biased and unreliable sources as the U.N. and senior officers in the IDF itself which of course contradict Israel's objective account of its very humane offensive in Gaza:

UN insists Israel bombed flour mill during Cast Lead
(Source: Haaretz, Feb 4/10)
IDF officer: Gaza civilians risked to protect Israel troops during war (Source: Haaretz, Feb 3/10)
Israeli officers get 'slap on wrist' for white phosphorus use in Gaza (Source: The Times, Feb 2/10)

Friday, February 05, 2010

02/04/10: Arbaeen day massacre in Karbala and Karachi

After years of brutal oppression under Saddam, the Iraqis finally get a chance to carry out the Arbaeen pilgrimage only to be martyred by the foul odour of modern day Sufyans and Wahabbi terrorists.

May the pilgrims martyred in Karbala and Karachi be with Husayn-bin-Ali (A.S.)
And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead; nay, (they are) alive, but you do not perceive. (Qu'ran, 2:154 - Shakir translation)

29th Safar: Anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Ali Reza (A.S.)

Imam Ali Reza's ShrineImage via WikipediaZiyarat of Imam Ali Reza (A.S.)

Sermons on the occasion of the martyrdom of the 8th Imam - Imam Ali Reza (A.S.):

Respected Alim, Hujjatul Islam Wal Muslimeen Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi
January 11/12 - 1434 - If you have to grieve, grieve for Husayn bin Ali
January 22/12 - 1433
February 13/10 - 1431

Respected Alim, Sayyid Ali Raza Rizvi :

December 31/2013 - 1435 - Debates of the Imam








From ziaraat.com:


Presentations about Imam Ali Riza(a.s.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Profile: http://www.ziaraat.com/masriz01.php
Pictures: http://www.ziaraat.com/masriz02.php
Ziarat: http://www.ziaraat.com/masriz03.php
Ziarat-e-Jamea Kabeer: http://www.ziaraat.com/jamea01.php
Ziarat-e-Jamea Sagheer: http://www.ziaraat.com/jameas01.php
How well do you know about: http://www.ziaraat.com/hwdyk_imam8_1.php
Nohas of Imam Ali Riza(a.s.):
http://www.rizvia.com/brownoha.asp?masaibof=imamriza&recitor=All&orde...
Online Books: http://www.ziyaraat.net/findbook.asp
Azadari in Bangkok – 2010-11: http://www.ziaraat.com/bkkazadari1432.php
Ziaraat.Com Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/ZiaraatDotCom

His Martyrdom

Imam Ali Riza (a.s.) was summoned by Mamoon in his court and was offered some grapes which were injected with poison. Imam(a.s.) knew about it and politely declined to eat but Mamoon insisted saying that it appears that Imam(a.s.) has doubt on his intentions. Imam(a.s.) was aware from ilm-e-imamat that the time of his martyrdom has arrived and therefore ate a few grapes and left the court.

He (a.s.) arrived in Bait-ush-Sharaf. Abul Salat stayed outside on the door to guard. He mentions that he heard some conversation and movement inside so he went in to check and saw that a young lad was with Imam Riza(a.s.). He was surprised that no one had entered the room from the door so how could this young lad come in. The young lad said that he was Mohammad ibn-e-Ali Riza(a.s.) and he has been brought from Madina by Allah(swt) to take over the responsibilities of Imamat and that distances and walls are no hindrances for Imams(a.s.). When
an Imam is about to leave this world, the next one stays with him to take over all the responsibilities.

Imam Ali Riza(a.s.) breathed his last after a short period and Imam Mohammad Taqi (a.s.) performed his ghusal, kafn and recited namaz-e-janaza and then instructed Abu Salat to announce the martyrdom of Imam Ali Riza(a.s.). To conceal the crime, Mamoon then organized a state funeral and mourning since Imam Ali Riza(a.s.) was a royal price as well.

The confirmation of poisoning of Imam(a.s.) by Mamoon is mentioned in the following books: Rodatus Safa, Shawahid-un-Nabuwwah, Kamil, Murawajuz Zahab, Noorul Absar, Al-Fakhri, Matalibus Suwal, Tazheeb Tahzeebul Kamal, Mukhtasar Akhbarul Khulafa and others. Some historians such as Shibli Nomani have doubted that Mamoon would have poisoned the Imam(a.s.). It is to be noted that Mamoon never tried to investigate and punish the killers even though Imam Riza(a.s.) was the royal price and this seems strikingly strange since rules of Bani Ummaya had made a big issue out of the killing of Hazrat Usman and repeatedly had accused Imam Ali(a.s.) of involvement. Moreover, a person such as Mamoon who had killed his own brother in the name of justice did nothing to find the killers of Imam(a.s.) is a sufficient proof in itself that his character was not clean in this conspiracy