Posted on 05/03/2002 2:49:55 PM PDT by Stultis
| Activists Sneak Into Church of Nativity by International Solidarity Movement 1:06pm Thu May 2 '02 (Modified on 4:30pm Fri May 3 '02) |
At about 6 p.m. today (ME time), a group of 24 international activists slipped past Israeli Defense Force roadblocks to enter Bethlehem's Manger Square.
11 INTERNATIONALS JOIN PALESTINIANS TRAPPED IN CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY At about 6 p.m. today (ME time), a group of 24 international activists slipped past Israeli Defense Force roadblocks to enter Bethlehem's Manger Square. Running across the square, 11 were then able to enter the besieged Church of the Nativity through service doors to deliver food to the 200 Palestinians who have been trapped in the church for almost a month. IDF troops caught and detained the other 13 activists. "We took them completely by surprise," says Kristen Schurr, an activist from New York City, who adds that she did not notice any shots fired at the group. None of the activists were wearing protective gear, in solidarity with the many Palestinians who do not have such equipment and have endured beatings at the hands of IDF troops since the Israeli offensive in the West Bank began at the end of March. One journalist also entered the church with the activists, who include US, Swedish, UK, and Irish nationals. Schurr says the activists wanted to enter the church to deliver food to the trapped Palestinians, many of whom are sick and starving. They also wanted to call international attention to the fact that, while the Israeli government has restored some freedom of movement to Palestinian Authority President Yassir Arafat, the Israeli siege of the Church of the Nativity continues. She said the activists plan to remain in the church - one of the oldest and most important Christian shrines - until the Palestinians are allowed to leave without being arrested. The effects of fierce fighting at the church were apparent when the activists entered, Schurr says. Fires are still burning, and the dead bodies of two Palestinians, killed by IDF gunfire this morning, remain in the church. However, the trapped Palestinians cheered the internationals when they entered. "People seemed excited, and very happy to see us," says Schurr. |
It doesn't seem to be moderated, at least not before posts are released and appear. Maybe they will be pulled later. My comments are still there. For freeping purposes here I went into troll mode, posting as "A Liberal (Not a Stalinist)". (Although my identity as a "liberal" was disengenuous, my comments were not.)
[The last few comments] were from freepers at www.freerepublic.com, a major source of the trolling done to the indymedia sites.and yes, boys, i am watching you.
Then why so shy? You should have gone ahead and provided the address for the thread where your disgusting display of solidarity with war criminals appropriating a church as a military redoubt is being discussed:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/677628/posts
BTW, although I described the handle I'm using as a disengenous troll persona, I've rethought this and decided to keep it. Although a "conservative" in the conventional political lexicon, with respect to the hard left (pro-totalitarian) ideology espoused here at indymedia, I genuinely AM a "liberal". (And damned proud of it, I find myself chagrined to admit.)
I have contacted both Amy Goodman (Democracy now) and Dennis Bernstein (KPFA, Flashpoints) about my finding [re: the Jenin non-massacre] and asked that they conduct complete investigations and not just publish the massacre claims as being reported from Palestinian and western sources (like UK independent). I offered to give them phone numbers of Israeli soldiers who were in Jenin, people who are not afraid to give their full name and tell their story (not the behavior one would expect from person guilty in war crimes)To my surprise they did not want to interview them.
Dennis Bernstein has accused me as being a Sharon supporter and other things. Democracy now was more subtle, repeatedly telling me that it is not the "right time" to interview an Israeli doctor who was the chief medical officer in the Jenin operation and personally treated many Palestinians. They tried to find his political viewpoint before putting him on air and eventually delayed it (so far for two weeks)
I have wrote both Ms. Goodman and Mr. Bernstein that eventually the truth about Jenin will come out and will hurt their creditability. That I have found no evidence that there was "ethnic cleansing" - as was reported on KPFA or "Carpet Bombing" of the camp by F-16 - as was reported by Brian woods who was also on Democracy Now.
I now wonder, after finding that these reports are not true - was I fooled all these years in which I trusted Amy Goodman, Democracy Now and Dennis Bernstein – I hope not.
Stoopid me. Here I was pinging you, when you were among the first to find the thread!
That last bit you posted really got to me (sniff, sniff). No, seriously, this person is teetering on the edge of the Giant Abyss of Painful Reality and is about to fall in, which I know from experience is a scary place to be. I see an honest person who's discovering that people she believed in are not above a massive deception. She's probably feeling quite used at the moment.
The Ghost of Richard Nixon, eh? Well, you should know!
Are you tormented more for Watergate, or wage & price controls?
Oh, the shame of it all... < /Sylvester >
Why do you see the glass as half-empty? Maybe she won't come back!
Is there any way to transfer MORE of America's radical-left terrorist-lovers to the West Bank and Gaza? Financial incentives? An ad campaign? Mail order brides (or "house boys") for Pali gunmen?
C'mon, think! There must be some way to transform this from an isolated embarassment into a positive trend.
We took them completely by surprise," says Kristen Schurr, an activist from New York City, who adds that she did not notice any shots fired at the group.I'm laughing like a madman.
Listen, Kristen. Had the IDF fired at you (not more or less in some general direction, for the sake of making noise -- i.e. like your pallie friends), you'd have noticed, however briefly.
The International Solidarity Movement is a growing movement of Palestinian and international activists working to raise awareness of the Palestinian struggle for freedom and an end to Israeli occupation. We utilize non-violent, direct-action methods of resistance to confront and challenge the illegal Israeli occupation forces and policies.
Gee, what a surprise, but they forgot to add to the list of their activities, practicing farcical comedy.
< /Sylvester >
Again, I'm afraid something's wrong with me. It wasn't Sylvester who said that, it was Sylvester's son. And I can't remember his name anymore.
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