WASHINGTON (JTA) -- An ad hoc group of rabbis is organizing a monthly communal fast to protest Israel's actions in Gaza. Called Ta'anit Tzedek -- Jewish Fast for Gaza, the water-only fast will take place on the third Thursday of every month from sunrise to sunset, with the first fast scheduled for July 16. Participants also are being asked sign onto a statement at the group's Web site and donate money they save on food to the Milk for Preschoolers Campaign sponsored by American Near Eastern Refugee Aid, a campaign fighting malnutrition among Gazan preschool children. more

The lengths that people like Netanyahu will go to to defend the settlements on the West Bank is revealed today by Haaretz. He used the Nazi term 'Judenrein" to refer to Palestinian demands for an end to Israel's land grabbing. In other words he is willing to enlist, and thereby undermine, the legacy and meaning of the holocaust in defence of the colonial project in Palestine. Shame on Netanyahu. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the Nazi term 'Judenrein' in a recent meeting with the German foreign minister to condemn the Palestinian demand that West Bank settlements be removed, a confidant of the premier has said. "Judea and Samaria cannot be Judenrein," the confidant quoted the prime minister as telling Frank-Walter Steinmeier earlier this week. Asked how Germany's top diplomat responded to hearing the term used by the Nazis to refer to areas "cleansed of Jews", the confidant said, "What could he do? He basically just nodded....

Today, the group will be splitting up. Some of us will head north to another city and purchase the vehicles that we will make up the convoy to Gaza. The other half will stay in Cairo to continue packing aid and will meet us in Al Arish, the city right by the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian side. The supplies are packed and the people are ready to push ahead. More to come, the real mission begins today…. Viva Palestina US

GAZA, (PIC)-- The minister of prisoners' affairs in the PA government in Gaza, Mohammed Al-Ghoul, sent his congratulations to MP Ibrahim Abu Salem on his release after serving 38 months in Israeli occupation authority (IOA) jails. Ghoul pointed out that the release of MP Abu Salem decreases the number of MPs detained in IOA prisons to 36 out of 132 MPs, in addition to 3 former ministers. The minister labeled the IOA arbitrary arrest of MPs and former ministers as illegal and in contravention of international conventions and charters, adding that international laws don't permit the detention or prosecution of members of parliament. He called on the international community to enforce and implement the law upon all without exception.

http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/ Today, July 8, 2009, the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat sent the below letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon , demanding that he and the United Nations uphold their responsibilities to protect the rights of Palestinian prisoners and secure their freedom. Well over 400 international organizations and individuals (see below for the full list) have supported this call, and we thank you all for your endorsement and support and urge you to distribute this letter widely, link to the website of the Campaign from your own websites, and continue your important work. Signatories of the letter include youth, student and workers' unions, solidarity organizations, lawyers' associations, political parties, human rights groups, and numerous activists, academics and supporters of Palestine from around the world. Please visit our website at http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/ and contact the Campaign at info@freeahmadsaadat.org to discuss forming local Fr...

Hamas is losing patience with Mubarak and his sucking up to Israel, as this report from AP attests, following Mubarak's insistence that the Israeli prisoner of war Shalit is 'alive and well': GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip ( AP ) — Egypt's president didn't know what he was talking about when he said an Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militants was alive and well, a top Hamas official announced Wednesday, in rare public criticism of the Egyptian leader. Egypt has been mediating attempts to trade hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for Sgt. Gilad Schalit, the soldier captured by Hamas-allied militants three years ago in a cross-border raid from Gaza. Schalit has not been seen since then, and the Red Cross has not been permitted to visit him. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Monday that Schalit was in good condition and hopefully would be released soon. Mubarak, who made the announcement during a visit to Cairo by Israeli President Shimon Peres, gave no de...

Power plant shuts down due to lack of repair equipment The power plant in Gaza has begun to collapse as lapsed maintenance and repair efforts reach a critical stage. Some areas of the grid have ceased to function and others are in dangerous condition. Head of Public Relations at an electricity company in Gaza Jamal Al-Dardasawi said on Thursday that the Israeli ban on maintenance equipment and spare grid parts was to blame for recent power outages. Al-Darasawi explained that parts for the power station have not been able to enter Gaza for more than a year, and local supplies for repair are totally exhausted. Areas in the northern Biet Lahia sector will have no electricity until new switches and generators can be provided. Thanks to the Palestine Media Center (PLO)

By Joyce Ravitz When I was growing up, my parents instilled in me the knowledge that Jews were hardworking people who would not stand for injustice. My Jewish education taught me that Jews were obliged to fight against discrimination and other wrongs whenever they occurred. And we met discrimination ourselves. My parents left the Lower East Side and I grew up in a small Pennsylvania town. My uncle, brother and I were the only non-Christians in the school system. A friend asked to see my horns. It was difficult. No wonder I returned to the Lower East Side... ... I am heartbroken and appalled by what Israel, the land I loved, is doing in Gaza today. On my trip in late May of this year, I witnessed physical and psychological damage from the Israeli occupation of Gaza... ... Thirteen Israeli soldiers were killed during the December-January bombing. The number of deaths is disproportionate for Israel’s claim to be acting in self-defense ... ... Israeli pressure is shrinking the actual are...

Under the headline: 'Four council staff sacked over email which compared Holocaust to Israeli occupation of Palestine' the Daily Mail reports on the sacking of four workers for Lancashire COunty Council. Quite how this can be described as 'anti-semitic' is beyond me although I think the comparison with the holocaust is erroneous as there are no extermination camps in Gaza. And this from a newspaper that once upon a time ran the headline 'Hurrah for the Blackshirts'. What a revolting newspaper it continues to be. It appears the workers did no more than Professor William Robinson at the University of California Santa Barbara, who was the victim of a pro-Israel campaign by two students, after he circulated a similar email - it backfired when the university authority kicked out charges brought against him by two students. And Prof Robinson is Jewish - so in the eyes of the zionist and their supporters he is presumably a 'self-hater'. Four council workers h...

At least 100 Americans arrived in Egypt Sunday and made their way up to the Egypt-Gaza border at Rafah with a rumored 1 million US dollars in medical supplies for the besieged Strip. Less than a week after Israeli occupation naval boats seized and boarded the Free Gaza ship, the Spirit of Humanity, and as activists from half a dozen countries remain in Israeli prison from the first group of activists, the Americans, with the “Viva Palestina” movement, will try to enter the Strip via Rafah. Following the first British “Viva Palestina” convoy which was allowed into the Strip in early October 2008, the American group - also lead by British MP George Galloway - will attempt to deliver supplies and show solidarity with the closed-off coastal area. From the Palestine Media Center Meanwhile, International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists Jenny Lindell and Natalie Abou Chakra have been prevented from leaving the Strip by the Egyptian regime because of their work with the Free Gaza boats. ...

That Conservative MP Mr Davis has exposed the depth of the collusion in torture that the British government and its agencies have been involved in - and probably still are. Who needs Al Qeada when here in the UK we have a government every bit as bad? They seem to have adopted the motto 'if you can't beat them join them'. Please forget the James Bond image of the romantic sophisticated, civilised hero and think instead of racist torturing thugs from a British public school and you start to get a truer picture of the staff at MI5 and MI6. The true depth of British involvement in the torture of terrorism suspects overseas and the manner in which that complicity is concealed behind a cloak of courtroom secrecy was laid bare last night when David Davis MP detailed the way in which one counter-terrorism operation led directly to a man suffering brutal mistreatment. In a dramatic intervention using the protection of parliamentary privilege, the former shadow home secretary reveale...

Dear Friends, Thank you for the fellowship and for the good wishes you have shown us these last days. They have sustained us. As we continuing our groundbreaking work to shatter the Israeli siege of Gaza, we're turning to you, our friends and supporters, for help. We have a need for volunteers to help us in translations (particularly Arabic and Greek), webwork, research, writing, graphic design and art, and many other areas. If you are interested in volunteering with the Free Gaza Movement, please send us an email to: volunteer[at] freegaza.org Please include your contact information, a brief bio, and where you think you'd best be able to contribute. Please be patient with us as we may not be able to respond to every offer right away. You are our family. If not for you, none of this would be possible. In the midst of all of the pain and difficulty of this terrible crisis - through each and every one of you, we are truly blessed. www.FreeGaza.org

UN holds 2nd round of public hearings on Gaza war TEHRAN (Press TV) - A UN human rights mission investigating possible war crimes in the Gaza Strip has resumed its public hearings with the victims of Israel's deadly offensive. The two-day session at the UN's human rights headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, which follows a first set of hearings in Gaza nearly 10 days ago, aims at giving a chance to those who were not able to travel to Gaza to present their testimony. In Gaza, Palestinians who were trapped in the three-week onslaught detailed the gory killing of their relatives to the fact-finding mission one after another. more at Tehran Times

Israel displays its callousness and inhumanity to the whole world by deporting human rights and aid workers from the Free Gaza Movement ship the Spirit of Humanity. AN AID worker has vowed to return to Gaza, despite being arrested at gunpoint and deported by the Israeli authorities. Theresa McDermott, 42, is due to return to Edinburgh today after arriving at Heathrow Airport yesterday. She was held in prison after the boat she was on, Spirit of Humanity, was seized by the Israeli army off the coast of Gaza a week ago. They were carrying aid, including medical supplies, books and children's toys. She was one of six British crew members and passengers who were deported from Tel Aviv. They plan to appeal this decision, as they claim their boat was in international waters at the time. From the Scotsman

Tel Aviv has denied reports that suggest Israeli bombers have been allowed to use Saudi airspace for an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. The denial came after unnamed Israeli diplomatic sources told The Sunday Times that Saudi officials have secretly agreed to allow Israeli fighter jets to fly over the kingdom to strike Iran's nuclear sites. “The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israeli air force flying through their airspace on a mission which is supposed to be in the common interests of both Israel and Saudi Arabia,” the The Sunday Times quoted an Israeli diplomatic source as saying. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to deny the report on Monday, claiming it to be "completely false and baseless." more at Press TV On Sunday US Vice President Biden also appeared to give Israel the green light for attacks on Iran.

We are NOT the Story, Its Not Just Our 21 Kidnapped Passengers. Palestine, the world's largest open-air prison - episode 5 The kidnapping of 21 international human rights workers attempting to deliver needed aid to a besieged people is an outrage, but it is hardly an isolated one. Since its founding in 1948 the State of Israel has regularly kidnapped and tortured Palestinians, throwing them into forgotten prisons where they can languish for years. Today, over 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners without benefit of due process, some never even charged - men, women, and children endure torture and isolation in Israeli jails, outdoor prison camps, and secret black sites. They come from all walks of life: doctors, journalists, parliamentarians, workers, resistance fighters, homemakers, students and others. They are our sisters and brothers. From the first night, the Free Gaza 21 have been busy trying to get news out of the prison about the illegality of Israel's actions in relati...

Hamas says that the Palestinian Authority security apparatus persists in kidnapping and torturing wives and sisters of martyrs and prisoners in Israeli jails, and leveling false charges against them exceeded the crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. And all this while negotiations as part of the national dialogue continue in Egypt. In a statement, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that the crimes of Abbas's henchmen against Palestinian women reflected the level of moral and human degradation to which the security apparatuses under the command of ex-PA chief Mahmoud Abbas have fallen. Spokesman Barhoum warned of the repercussions of this dangerous and criminal conduct perused by the PA, holding Abbas and his unconstitutional government the consequences of such practices. In a new development, Abbas’s security apparatuses kidnapped on Friday eight Palestinian citizens including ex-detainees thought to be affiliated with Hamas in different West Bank areas. Three ...

Amid the laughter of Israeli soldiers mocking all norms and values, the officer calls out: “Number Three: step forward.” With weak and hesitant steps, one of the six Palestinian children steps forward to receive several blows on his skinny body and then return to his comrades. Then another child is called forth to undergo the same treatment while the soldiers laugh. For 14 hours six children from Ramallah were continuously subjected to brutal torture, beatings, sitting in awkward positions, and a stream of insults and threats, after being abducted from the street on their way home from school. One of the children who reported the incident, 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Akroob, said: “They prevented us from drinking water, eating any food or going to the bathroom throughout the period of the interrogation and torture. They would call each of us by a number from one to six; if anyone delayed a few seconds after hearing the number, he was subjected to a double dose of torture and beatings; a...

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Sunday advanced into east of Khan Younis district, in the south of the Gaza Strip, shooting at farmers and civilian homes, local sources reported. They told a PIC reporter that six army tanks, five bulldozers and two patrols advanced more than 200 meters into the area and bulldozed cultivated lands and erected sand barriers. The area is open land with no inhabitants after IOF soldiers completely destroyed 15 houses forcing the inhabitants to seek refuge in other safer areas. Meanwhile, in the West Bank IOF troops kidnapped two Palestinian citizens in Bil'in village, west of Ramallah, at dawn Sunday. Hebrew radio said that the two were taken into custody for "incitement" against the IOF during the weekly rally organized by the village inhabitants against the racist, separation wall.