Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 2010, Pages 42-43

Southern California Chronicle

John Ging Headlines KinderUSA Program, Corries, Richard Falk at Rebuilding Alliance

By Pat and Samir Twair

JUST arriving after a 24-hour flight from Gaza—rerouted to avoid ash clouds from Iceland's volcano—John Ging, director of UNRWA's Gaza operations, delivered a dynamic keynote address at KinderUSA's annual fund-raiser April 17 in Orange County.

The Irish diplomat shares an admirable distinction with Justice Richard Goldstone and U.N. Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Rights Richard Falk of being on Israel's most despised list. As he managed to survive the deluge of Israeli missile attacks on Gaza during the winter of 2008-09, Ging dispatched impassioned reports of Israel's relentless assault on Gaza's defenseless civilian population.

Ging's exclusive appearance for the KinderUSA benefit was a thank you to the charitable organization's unflagging medical and food assistance to beleaguered Gazan families.

"Inhumane, illegal and insane" were the adjectives Ging used to describe the world turning a blind eye on Israel's 22-day blitzkreig on Gaza and ongoing blockade of all but the barest necessities into the coastal strip.

"We don't even have soup kitchens for the most destitute," the U.N. official stated, noting that one million of Gaza's 1.5 million residents are refugees from what is now Israel. "Eighty percent of Gazans are food dependent," Ging continued. "This means 300,000 are totally destitute and 800,000 are totally dependent on food handouts. We can't offer three square meals daily, but only staples which fail to meet the basic caloric intake."

He went on to remark that "Gazans aren't dying on a daily basis, but their subsistence existence shortens lives. Health care is on its knees, dialysis machines are out of action, there is no rehabilitation of the infrastructure."

The man-made humanitarian disaster means that 90 percent of Gaza's water is undrinkable and must be treated in the home. Israel purposely bombed sewage plants, so 60 million liters of sewage now are pumped daily into the Mediterranean.

More than 208,000 children attend Gaza's 226 UNRWA schools, Ging said, where "We teach these students that even though illegal acts are being perpetrated on them, this doesn't justify violent acts on their part." He then thanked KinderUSA for its assistance in providing badly needed recreation programs for children this past summer.

"My concern is over the contradictory narratives and the contradictory statistics," he added. "I tell the world to come to Gaza and see the facts. This misery must be addressed. Despite the unrelenting oppression that grows worse daily, Gazans practice a stoicism that makes them reject giving up."

Despite the fact that the Geneva Conventions define collective punishment as illegal, he emphasized, nothing is being done to protect the rights of Palestinian refugees who were driven into Gaza 62 years ago.

"Israel replaced its settlements in Gaza with the blockades," he declared.

At the close of his speech, Ging commented to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs,: "History will prove the Palestinians have been steadfast as a beacon of resilience—despite their dire circumstances, they've retained their humanity."

Rebuilding Alliance Triple-Header

The Rebuilding Alliance outdid itself at its annual Peacemakers Awards dinner April 24 when it honored U.N. Special Rapporteur Dr. Richard Falk, Cindy and Craig Corrie, and Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA). More than 300 guests gathered at the Red Rock Chateau in Silverado, CA for an Arab banquet hosted by Nabhan and Yola Simaan.

In accepting his award, Professor Falk noted that it is a sad commentary when one is commended for being courageous in standing up for justice in the Middle East. Before touching upon three new developments affecting the region, the educator quoted the late U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who complained about his disappointment that "Arabs and Jews couldn't sit down together like good Christians."

The first new development, Falk said, is a greater awareness on the part of Washington that its unconditional support of Israel is endangering the lives of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This concept is reinforced by military leaders who emphasize the urgency of finding a solution to the Palestinian/Israeli impasse," he said.

A more troublesome development, according to Falk, is that it's no longer clear if a two-state solution is possible. A de facto one state currently exists, with half the population living under an apartheid situation.

Thirdly, he stressed, the Palestinians have shifted their tactics to nonviolence, so that their struggle is being waged symbolically on a global scale.

"The Boycott, Divest, Sanction movement has spread dramatically since Israel's Operation Cast Lead," he observed. "By relying on soft power, the Palestinians have seized the moral high ground."

Closing with a comparison to the Vietnam War, Falk said U.S. military supremacy was irrelevant in a power struggle with a people seeking self-determination. "We must recognize this is our struggle," he insisted. "We supply the arms (to Israel) and it's our responsibility to demand justice (for the Palestinians)."

In accepting the Peacemaker award on behalf of Representative Baird, Craig Corrie explained how deeply his congressman was affected upon hearing of the death of the Corries' daughter Rachel. She was crushed to death in April 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer intent on demolishing a Palestinian home in Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

"We may not have always agreed with Congressman Baird on his views of Israel," Corrie said, "but he always did right about Rachel." This meant enabling the Corries to speak to Congress and urge that a full investigation be made into the circumstances of her murder.

In February 2009, following Israel's 22-day assault on Gaza, Rep. Baird made three trips there, inviting other legislators to view Israel's systematic devastation of the area. He subsequently publicly denounced Israel's actions during "Operation Cast Lead."

Unfortunately, after seeing the light on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, Baird has decided not to seek re-election to the congressional seat he's held since 1998. Let's hope his successor will be as enlightened as the current incumbent.

Cindy Corrie then discussed the first phase of the couple's civil suit in a Haifa district court probing the circumstances leading to Rachel's death (see p. 51).

The achievements of Rebuilding Alliance since it was founded six years ago were outlined by its executive director, Donna Baranski-Walker. It built a three-story kindergarten in al-Aqaba village in Area C of the West Bank. When Israel issued demolition orders for the village, the organization succeeded in having the U.S. Embassy stop the bulldozers. Representatives of 15 embassies have since visited the village.

The alliance hopes to build a birthing center and provide the first ambulance for Area C. It is working in Washington, DC to invoke the Leahy Law to safeguard playgrounds it builds in Palestine, and plans to construct a community center in Rafah. For more information, visit <www.rebuildingalliance.org>.

Winograd for Congress Fund-Raiser

California's June 8 primary election will feature the first contest between an AIPAC Goliath — Jane Harman —and a progressive David—Marcy Winograd—for California's 36th Congressional Democratic seat (see May/June 2010 Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, p. 24).

Among the many constituents who appreciate Winograd's call for an end of Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and its blockade of Gaza are Lily and Karim Karam, who opened their Palos Verdes Estates home for a March 27 fund-raiser for Winograd.

In 2006, while Harman was praising the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Winograd challenged the 16-year incumbent and won 38 percent of the vote. There's a good chance she can defeat Harman in the June primary if peace advocates and voters seeking a change in the education system and a shift from military expenditures to a green economy come out to support her.

They and other concerned Americans can learn more by visiting <www.Winograd4Congress.com>.

Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journalists based in Los Angeles.