Yusif’s view: Palestine at the U.N.

Salaam alaykum,

The tragedy of our age is not that we still have wars and violence, and it is not that we still discriminate against one another based on dogma, religion, nationality, color of skin, etc. Nay–the tragedy of our age is that we have forgotten who we are as Human Beings. We have fallen from grace and away from our divine nature. We have abandoned our place in the Garden of Eden in exchange for the “American Dream”, which is now more like the American Nightmare! As Americans in pursuit of our own happiness and prosperity, we have been party to obliterating a whole population of indigenous people, the 1st Nation of Native American people; we have been party to slavery; we have supported inequality between the sexes; and have denied basic human rights to million of our brothers and sisters in the U.S. and around the world. We have supported endless wars and gave the green light to corporate & individual greed and avarice.

As Americans, we give lip service to freedom and democracy, yet deny it to those we are killing and occupying overseas. We have epitomized HYPOCRISY.

This has never been more obvious than the U.S. reaction to Palestinian’s request for Statehood at the United Nations.

As one of the few remaining Nakba (Palestinian holocaust) survivors, I have given this a lot of thought and have written volumes on the subject. Much more has been written, pro & con, which can be found on the web. I am resisting the temptation to send you what I have written, in favor of drawing your attention to some basic fundamental Principles that I know Americans believe in: They are Equity, Equality and Human Rights!

One Nation “The Holy Land”

Date: Sat, Dec 18, 2010

Subject: A PROPOSED SOLUTION TO PALESTINE/ISRAEL

One Nation

“The Holy Land”

After recently spending two months touring the Middle East, and having spent New Year’s Eve in Gaza, and considering the many trips I have made back to Palestine (both Israel and the West Bank) I have come to the conclusion that there is only one solution to the Palestine conflict!

As Palestine is the cradle that spawned the three major religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) there can only be one solution: Palestine should not be dominated by any one of these religions, and should be open to ALL of them, and THE WORLD.  

After a great deal of soul searching and thoughtful considerations I have come to the conclusion that HISTORIC PALESTINE should be open and available to ALL the people of the world and for that reason, I offer the following proposal.

Why Not Egypt?

When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power There will be Peace

It’s no surprise that the descendants of the Pharaohs, in the land of the Nile, who built the Pyramids, should muster the strength and the courage to break the yoke of oppression, and demand their freedom!

Tahrir (Liberation) Square was aptly named for the demonstrations that will lead to Liberation and Freedom.

Why Egypt and why now?   To answer this question, we need to look at the historical cause and effect that has built the foundation which resulted in what we see now in Cairo.

YUSIF’S 3rd REPORT FROM THE HOLY LAND

22 October 2010

I am within a few days from returning to the good old USA after 55 days in the Holy Land. My heart is full of Joy & Sadness—my mind is full of hundreds of memories with people & places in 7 countries and 3 continents—and–my soul cries out with passion for PEACE IN THE WORLD AND THE END OF WARS AND VIOLENCE!

I have so much I want to share, which will take me weeks, perhaps months to transmit to you—meantime—all my feelings are already spoken in the short, graphic and powerful poem written by Andrea Gibson. (in the following YouTube link below)

A dear friend, Suzy, a sensitive Jewish woman, who has been a mentor, a guide and a soul-mate from Ancient Time, sent me the following link, of a poem, which I want to share with all my American, Muslim, Christian and Jewish friends!  As Suzy wrote, “This is an AMAZING poem by a dear friend of mine.  She is very powerful and graphic with her words and what she portrays.  It makes me cry every time I hear it.  Remember that we are bringing an end to ATROCITIES in our hopes, in our positive and peaceful actions, in our choices to carry on and stay strong, focused on a time when this will be a tragic memory that taught us to achieve better…to love more…to forgive, offer compassion and nurture our way to enlightenment.  All bright blessings to you.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_ubpsCnbJ8&feature=related

YUSIF’S 4th REPORT FROM THE HOLY LAND

My memory of my first trip was crossing the Jordon River on horseback, as a child.  My second memory of travel was on a ship on my 12^th Birthday, crossing the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean (Aug. ’47), landing at Ellis Island, observing the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline.

This traumatic experience set me up with contradictions, i.e. my Left friends think I’m right and my Right friends think I’m wrong.  My ethnic friends think I’m too American and my American friends think I’m too foreign.  I’m a global citizen with a Universal Mind.  I’m a man without a country—a gypsy who feels at home wherever I am. 

YUSIF IN THE HOLY LAND (report #1)

The figs mature & ripen overnight. Each morning I go out to the fig tree and fill the bowl with sweet figs “ALLA-IMMO” an Arabic expression meaning “from the Mother” i.e. Fresh from the Mother tree”. The fig tree is barely 8 feet tall and one can easily reach the fruit from all branches that expand about 6 feet in diameter. The fig tree is in front of my Cousin’s house, which is on top of a high hill, overlooking the sprawling city of AMMAN, JORDAN. When pronounced with a double ‘MM’ it is the name of the city. When pronounced with a short ‘M’, AMAN, it means Faith.

Faith is an apt description of this modern and beautiful city of about 2 million, which is spread over 7 mountains. There is a major emphasis on religion here “ISLAM” and we arrived, on 9/3, during the Holy Month of “RAMADAN”. Ramadan, is based on a Lunar Month of total fasting, from sun rise to sunset and culminates in a 3 day holiday called EID, reminiscent of CHRISTMAS, in traffic jams, gift buying, family gathering, gaiety and celebration, though not based on the same reason.

My sister, Leila and I came on the last week of Ramadan and today, Friday, September 10, 2010 begins the Eid which ends Sunday at sunset. The routines of the city are changed during Ramadan and the city is virtually shut down during the Eid.

Most buildings in AMMAN, both residential and commercial are made of white stone with a few high rise buildings made of glass. There are some traffic jams, though nothing like other major cities of its size.

Our plans to take side trips to the surrounding countries of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and the Holy Land were temporarily delayed by Ramadan, which meant, the first 10 days of our 55 day trip is spent with our Cousins in AMMAN.

Monday Sep. 13, begins our first sojourn to Lebanon, where we hope to spend about 5 days seeing the country of some of our ANCESTORS. My sister, Leila was 9 and I was 12 when we were displaced from our birth place in Haifa, Palestine, in August 1947. Though, I have been back to the Middle East several times, as well as a trip around the world, this is Leila’s first trip in 63 years. I promised to escort her and take her to visit Cousins, friends and relatives in various countries in the Middle East.

After Lebanon, we plan to go to Syria for about 5 days, then Egypt for a week or 10 days and return to our birth place in Haifa, with tours through Israel and the West Bank.

If time permits, and the money holds out, we plan to take a 4 day trip to ISTANBUL, TURKEY to visit a non-Arab country and see the remnants of the Ottoman Empire! As we travel and I find time and a computer, I will send a continuation of this report along with highlights of where we visited and some details about the sights and sounds of the area and the people.

Though, I wrote this report on Sept. 10, ’10- – - It’s not certain what day it will reach you, as there is both a difference in time zones as well as the time it takes me to type and transmit this message.

For now, I extend to you and yours, a Happy and Blessed Eid from the Ancient World of the Bible and the Koran!

Yusif

Pictures of Cairo & Gaza

If you do not have a Google’s G-mail account you may not be able to see the pictures, so try this direct link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/yusifpeace/TripToCairoGazaPicturesUsedInYusifSReportAFewMore?feat=directlink

A Report from the Gaza Freedom March by Yusif Barakat, part 2

Instructions:

To read in larger font: use “Ctrl”key and + key; for smaller font: “Ctrl” key and – key.

Printing will come out with black font on white paper.

Gaza Overview

For an overview of how Gaza became an outdoor prison, I recommend you click on “Overview on Gaza” on the right column under “Pages”.

How to read Cairo/ Gaza report:

This report of my trips to Cairo and Gaza, is in two parts.

Please read part 1 (Cairo) first, which is seen below part 2 (Gaza), then return to this section for part 2.

Note that there is more of each report, including pictures, if you click on “Read more” at the end of each part.

Excerpts from Gaza part 2:

On Friday, January 1^st, we visited an orphanage, where about 20 of us, including the four Rabbis, had lunch.   We visited with the 50 boys and 40 girls as the children sat at tables with us.   I and some of the teachers were able to translate.   We played out in the playground with the children and left the toys that we brought for them.

Boys playing with a soccer ball at the Al-amal Institute for Orphans, in Gaza City, January 1st, 2010.

For more information see: Al-amal Institute for Orphans: http://www.vivapalestina.org/resources/Al_Amal-profile.pdf

We also got about a half hour tour of the school with information about the facility.   We were also shown some disturbing footage of the Israeli attack, from the year before, and how many children were killed or became orphans as a result.

A special highlight, on Friday afternoon, was a soccer game in Gaza City.   The internationals were challenged to a soccer game by the local team, as they were all decked out in their yellow uniforms and spent hours practicing for the game.   Of course, I played with the internationals and instructed my team

Report I-The Gaza Freedom March, by Yusif Barakat, Part 1 of 2

The Truth Shall Set You Free!  Israel is Cancer in The Holy Land

December 31, 2009

By Yusif Barakat

Introduction

Yusif

The opportunity to return back to the land of my birth came at a moment in my life that sparked a renewed interest in justice for a forgotten people. The plight of the Palestinians is one of the human atrocities that rival the dispossession of the Native American Indians by European Pilgrims, and the holocaust of Jews in Germany.

The confiscation of “The Holy Land” (though all land is holy) from a people, who lived there for thousands of years, by European and American Jews (“Zionists”) is one of the biggest hoaxes ever perpetrated on humankind. And it remains shrouded in deception and intrigue. See books: 1) “The Myths of Zionism” by John Rose on http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745320557& ) and 2) “OVERCOMING ZIONISM: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine” by Joel Kovel: http://www.joelkovel.org/archives.html

The Zionist scheme to steal the land of the Prophets was begun in 1893 by Hertzel and has been fueled by propaganda and misinformation. The myth “a land without a people for a people without a land” has been used by the Zionists to justify their take-over of Palestine from the indigenous Palestinians. This myth continues until this very day, misleading the world with its lies and deception. This malicious scheme must be unraveled, if we ever hope to remove the single most dangerous threat to world peace. There needs to be a healing of the arrogant hatred which is like a malignant cancer in The Holy Land that keeps the world in turmoil and threatens the survival of humanity!

In this report, of my trip to the Middle East, December 23^rd, 2009 to January 18, 2010, I will describe (chronologically) my time in Cairo, going to Gaza and returning to Cairo for the conclusion of the Gaza Freedom March event. Next I will describe my time in Amman, Jordon, my trip to Israel and the West Bank then conclude with observations, comments and personal views and opinions. These observations should give you a bird’s eye view of the complex problems in Palestine and the Middle East and why/how that threatens world peace. These reports will be posted on my web site: www.yusif.org along with other related matters. This report will include some pictures from the more than 1300 which I took during my 27 day journey. Soon, I will also post an Op-Ed giving the history of the Palestine conflict, showing it to be not about “Jews in the Promised Land” but about colonialism and control of the oil region of the Middle East.

Cairo Events

This trip began on December 23^rd, 2009, when I boarded a flight from Detroit to Cairo, Egypt. In Cairo I visited with my life-long friend, Ahmad, and my two cousins, who moved to Egypt when we all left Palestine in the late 40’s. The first few days I spent in Cairo with cousins were wonderful. That was before I became officially a part of the Gaza Freedom March (GFM) team. I slipped under the radar and was not distinguishable from the native population. During that time, I got to visit my two cousins, Nazim and Zuheir’s homes and met their families. I had not seen these cousins in 50 years. They took me to St. George Cathedral, a famous land mark in Cairo, and we celebrated Christmas together. We took local buses and I enjoyed mingling with the local people. My friend, Ahmad, took me to visit local people and we had many dinners together.

A few days later, December 26^th, I welcomed my Michigan Peace Team (MPT) members to Cairo, where Ahmad and I took them out to dinner and we began our odyssey together.

Yusif, Sheri, Liz, Dorothy, Kim, Bella & Ahmed

Yusif Barakat, Sheri Wander, Liz Walters, Dorothy Ritter, Kim Redigan, Bella Rowan and Yusif’s friend, Ahmad Galal, outside Cairo Khan Hotel.

My MPT mates were the best companions a man could have. They were caring, loving and supportive during all our trials and tribulations over the next few days. I’m grateful to the Michigan Peace Team, and my team members, for all the support they gave me during this trip. We met daily, processed information and planned our strategy for the following days. They e-mailed daily reports that were incorporated into the MPT in Gaza BlogSpot. (See: http://mptinGaza.blogspot.com) I recommend a review of this hyperlink for a more detailed description of our experiences in Cairo.

During the first few days in Cairo we participated as a team in demonstrations and civil activities, in an attempt to persuade the Egyptian government to allow us entry into Gaza. The Egyptians first denied all 1,362 international delegates entry into Gaza claiming protection for our safety. We were met by resistance from the Egyptian police and military to thwart our every effort. They blockaded us from the American Embassy and would not allow us to hold a candlelight vigil on the Nile. We attended meetings called for by the “Code Pink” group, who coordinated the Gaza Freedom March, where we discussed future strategies.

We felt a great deal of disappointment and frustration at

Some initial Recommended Resources

For further information on some of the subjects I lecture and teach about, here are some resources.  This list will be constantly updated and expanded on the “Recommendations” section of this blog, so check there for updated listings.

This can be found online through my Webmaster hosting the down-loadable files (in both .PDF and .DOC formats)  if you go HERE ….

Recommended Resources from Yusif :
1) Data Resource Information:
a) Palestinian Centre for Human Rights: To get facts, pictures on Israeli attacks
& blockade http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/
b) B’Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied