Irvine 11 Found Guilty On All Charges

10 of the defendants in the Irvine 11 case have been found guilty of conspiracy and disturbing the peace and were sentenced to three years probation and 55 hours of community service (see the Occupy California website). The other defendant had his charges dropped in exchange for community service after it was found that some of his charges resulted from a confidential email between him and his attorney, obtained by the District Attorney’s office, that should not have been made available to the court.

The Irvine 11 are Muslim students from UC Irvine who were arrested for disrupting a speech on campus by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. It should be pointed out that they only heckled the ambassador for a few minutes, while Oren cut his own speech short in order to attend the LA Lakers game.

The idea that they were guilty of conspiracy and disturbing the peace is absurd. Heckling is a time honored form of free speech. While it may be offensive to some, it was done nonviolently and politely, as the students consistently referred to Oren as “Sir.” It should also be pointed out the Zionist students have disrupted Muslim Student Union events and heckled their speakers while police have looked on, without arresting or charging the Zionist students for conspiracy, disturbing the peace or anything else.

Obama More Zionist Than Most Israelis

Mahmoud Abbas presented his case to the UN today for full recognition of Palestine, while the Obama administration and the Israeli government threatened to fight it to the end. While Obama has repeatedly said that he supports statehood for Palestine, once it became clear that the Palestinian Authority would go to the UN, he made an about turn, probably to prove to his Republican opponents that he was more pro-Israel than anyone else.

Now I’m no supporter of a two state solution. Hell, I am not even a supporter of states. But the possibility of a viable Palestinian state that is able to provide food, healthcare, housing, and jobs to its own people and that is not completely dependent on donations from Europe and the U.S., as is currently the case, is highly unlikely with Israel controlling its borders and its access to fresh water. It is also highly unlikely that Israel would consent to the 1967 borders, which essentially leaves a lot of desert and very little fertile land. And even if Israel did agree to the 1967 borders, there is a large and growing Palestinian population living within Israel proper, a population that will eventually be larger than the Jewish population at current birth rates.

Nevertheless, 70% of Jewish Israelis  and well over 80% of Palestinians support a two state solution, while President Obama has taken the ultra-Zionist stance and done everything possible to block it from even being presented to the UN (see Democracy Now, 9/24/11)

Students Face Up To 2 Years For Heckling

The Irvine 11 trial began this week in Southern California (for background, see here, here and here). The Irvine 11, Muslim students from the University of California Irvine and Riverside, face up to two years in prison (according to the Electronic Intifada), for heckling the ambassador from Israel, Michael Oren, when he spoke at UC Irvine last year. Interestingly, both the prosecution and defense are arguing free speech.

The prosecution is arguing that the protestors prevented Oren from exercising his free speech rights, while the defense is arguing that they the defendants were exercising their free speech rights by heckling him. The prosecution says that there were clearly articulated rules for debate delineated before Oren’s speech and that the protestors violated these rules, according to the Daily Pilot. However, heckling, by definition, knows no rules, yet it is still a time-honored and judicially defensible form of free-speech. Furthermore, the defendants, all of whom are Muslim, seemed to be singled out because of their faith, rather than their actions, considering that Israeli and Jewish protestors on campus who had engaged in similar tactics were never charged or prosecuted.

Aside from the fact that it is a horrendous waste of resources to prosecute these students at all simply for heckling someone, let alone threaten them with two years in prison for it, it is highly unlikely they can receive a fair trial in conservative Orange County. Out of a pool of 400 potential jurors, several expressed outright hostility toward Muslims and Arabs. Furthermore, the overwhelming consensus in this country, perpetuated by politicians and the media, is that Israel is completely justified in doing whatever it sees fit to “protect” itself from “terrorism” by Palestinians, despite the fact that the blockade of Gaza is illegal under international law, and the Israeli siege of Gaza resulted in the slaughter of 1,400 Palestinians, most of whom were innocent children, women and men.

Greeks to Kill on Behalf of Israel?

Greece has been blocking a flotilla of boats from leaving its port to deliver aid to Gaza, which has been strangled by an Israeli blockade. The Greek government is citing security concerns, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, in light of the deadly Israeli assault on a similar flotilla last year. However, the Greek government also warned that lives could be lost if the mission goes forward, implying that the Greeks themselves might kill activists before the Israelis ever get the chance, drawing into question the claim that they are merely trying to saving lives and bolstering the claim that they are merely serving as Israeli mercenaries in their war against the Palestinians.

Yesterday, the Tahrir was boarded by armed Greek soldiers and commandeered back to port against the will of its crew, the Guardian reported. Smaller activist crews in canoes and kayaks tried to block the Greek coastguard, but failed to impede the faster coastguard boat. Such confrontations could easily provoke violence by the Greek authorities, who are perhaps trying to distract the Greek public from the severe austerity measures they have imposed on them on behalf of international capital.

One ship remains poised to succeed in leaving Greek waters, a Dutch-Italian vessel commanded by  Stefano Chiarini and docked at Corfu, whose provincial official Spiros Spirou supports the flotilla’s cause. Spirou said he would make no attempt to stop the boat from leaving harbor, the Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, Hilary Clinton has given the green light for Israel to attack the flotilla with military force, threatening the lives of American citizens, including author Alice Walker, as well as hundreds of international activists. According to IndyMedia.org, Clinton said, “. . . we think that it’s not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves.”

Aside from the fact that the U.S. secretary of state is telling a foreign government it has the right to kill U.S. citizens, her statement is inaccurate. No countries recognize Gaza as a part or sovereign Israel. Either the region is independent, as Israel would like to have the world believe, or it is still illegally occupied by Israel. In either case, waters of the coast of Gaza are not legitimately Israeli and, therefore, Israel would be illegally entering Gazan waters to attack the flotilla. It should also be pointed out that last year when Israel attacked another Gaza flotilla, it did so in international waters (see Electronic Intifada), as the boats sailed away from Israel, refuting the idea that Israel is defending its own territory.

The U.S. state department is also declaring that any attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza would be aiding the terrorist organization Hamas, which currently dominates the political landscape there. Thus, unarmed activists delivering humanitarian aid to a people under siege, with the highest unemployment rate in the world, living in prison-like conditions, are now justifiably murdered as terrorist sympathizers. Under this logic, the mass imprisonment of communist sympathizers under McCarthy would seem restrained.

Child Abuse in the West Bank

There is a new film out by Defense of Children International (DCI), which shows how children are routinely mistreated by Israeli Defense Forces in the occupied West Bank. Some of the appalling statistics revealed in the film:

70% of children who have been arrested have also been beaten

17% of those arrested have been place in solitary confinement

7% have been tortured with electric shocks

4% have been sexually abused

You can see the film here: Stolen Children, Stolen Lives – Part 1 Stolen Children, Stolen Lives – Part 2

Thanks to the Teacher Solidarity website for posting this.