Mass in the Holy Land

Today I went to mass at the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem. It was so beautiful. It reminded me of being in Rome with Catholics from all over the world, especially the clergy members from the various orders. On Friday our delegation was returning from a long day of meeting with human rights groups when we came across a group of Franciscans walking the stations of the cross. These moments have provided such a relief to me.

A Room with a View

These pictures were taken from my room at the CPT apartment in Hebron (click on them to enlarge). In the past, this street connected to the main road and had thriving shops and apartments filled with families. The first picture if of a military outpost on the roof across the street. It's hard to believe that these are the streets that children have to play on.

New Pictures Online

Check out the pictures from Ramallah and Hebron. When I have more time I'll update the desciptions so you have a better idea of what they are.

http://www.shutterfly.com/view/pictures.jsp

These kids are from a family in At Tuwani, a village that depends on subistance farming. The other pictures of the village show the school and clinic, which could be demolished because they were not built with a permit. Israel has refused permits for all new building in this small village and demolitions have occured. Interestingly enough, the Jewish settlement in the hills above the village gets enough water and electricity as they want. The Geneva Convention prohibits settlements on occupied land, but when has Israel really cared about intl law before?

More News...

First of all, thanks for all of the emails and prayers. It means so much. I have become accustomed to getting emotional in internet cafes at random locations around the globe. Today I had a chance to read all of your notes at a computer in Jerusalem.

Speaking of Jeusalem, today the Old City was closed to Palestinians that are residents of this small area. The outside workers, worshippers, and visitors were shut out by the military check point that appeared without reason. None of the soliders could explain this to me. Seems like another nonsensical tactic for breaking the Palestinian people. After waiting in line I offered to show my passport to a soldier so as to enter. It was not necessary, he had already seen the color of my skin.

For those who want more news sources. This may be good. Haven't read enough to completely endorse, but worth checking out. http://electronicintifada.net/new.shtml

U.N. Apalled by Beirut Destruction

The UN's Jan Egeland has condemned the devastation caused by Israeli air strikes in Beirut, saying it is a violation of humanitarian law.

Mr Egeland, the UN's emergency relief chief, described the destruction as "horrific" as he toured the city.

To read the entire article, go here.

My First Day in Israel/Palestine

I was lucky to have a day to relax and explore the Old City. After 6 hours in the air and a 10 hour time difference I only got 1 hour of sleep, so I was happy to spend my first full day in Israel/Palestine visiting churches, buying things that I forgot, trying new food, and getting lost in the Muslim and Christian quarters.

The highlight of the day was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Jesus was crucified, died, and buried. To see a video clip of one of the mosaics, check out my page on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=garygarino

Also, when I find an internet connection that's fast enough I'll finish uploading my pictures. So far I've only been able to put random ones from a demonstration in SF, a camping trip to Yosemite, and my childhood bedroom set (random, I know). Anyways, http://dpinasia.shutterfly.com/action/ is the URL where I'll continue to post.

Whwn I watch the news of Lebanon it seems just as distant as when I did so at home. That seems to be the vibe here in Jerusalem. Everyone is talking about what's going on THERE, not scared about being HERE. One other thing...The press here is completely different than in the States. Both push their own agendas, but one thing that is interesting is that here they show the true face of war. No photoshopped, candy-coated pictures. Real pictures of children shot, bodies tore open, homes destroyed. I would assume that many people would prefer to not see this, but you might as well know what your tax dollars are being used for, right? Those F-16s aren't for show. They are being used to bomb families trying to escape, or huddling in their homes.

Greetings from Jerusalem

I arrived safely in Tel Aviv this evening. Getting through the airport was not a problem. After being pulled aside and questioned briefly I went through the usual immigration process, which was surprisingly brief. Now I'm in Jerusalem checking email and getting ready for a day of tourism in the Old City.

More to come....

How dangerous is the West Bank today?

This month I will be traveling to Palestine with the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). Here's the latest from my delegation leader...

"The good news is that, for the most part, although they are only a few dozen miles away from the places we'll be visiting, Gaza and Lebanon are really a whole world away. The current violence that we are seeing in the news (as opposed to the continuing violence that has been ongoing for decades and that the news doesn't report) is really not having much of an impact in the southern West Bank at all. Since the beginning of the Hebron team project, many mini-conflicts have sprung up and died down, but the work of the team or the team members has never really been in jeopardy because of them. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that we will, as always, be careful and try to remain as safe as possible, and I don't think that the region in which we'll be staying will be any more dangerous when we arrive than it was when you all signed up to come on the trip."

The Face of War

Do you really want your tax dollars to be paying for this?

Terrorism

GALLOWAY: There will never be a winner because terrorism isn't an adversary -- it is a tactic. Peter Ustinov, the great European intellectual, put it this way: "War is the terrorism of the rich and powerful, and terrorism is the war of the poor and powerless." This word terrorism has been distorted beyond any further usefulness. Terrorism is what the other guy does. If you reduce Fallujah to ash, and kill thousands of people using white phosphorus and other banned weapons and overwhelming firepower, that's not terrorism, but if you blow yourself up outside an Iraqi police station, that is terrorism. No person with half a brain can accept that definition of terrorism. So there will be no end to the war on terrorism, because there is no end to the injustice that produced it.

Vatican Condemns Israel's Attack on Lebanon

VATICAN CITY, July 14 (Reuters) - The Vatican on Friday strongly deplored Israel's strikes on Lebanon, saying they were "an attack" on a sovereign and free nation.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano said Pope Benedict and his aides were very worried that the developments in the Middle East risked degenerating into "a conflict with international repercussions."

Chirac Condemns Israel's offensive

PARIS, July 14 (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac said on Friday Israel's offensive in Lebanon was "completely disproportionate" following the capture of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of eight more by Hizbollah guerrillas.

"One can ask oneself whether there isn't a sort of desire to destroy Lebanon," Chirac said in his traditional Bastille Day interview on French television. "

I find, honestly, like most Europeans, that the reactions are completely disproportionate," he said.

Conscious Lifestyle turns one year old

With a board meeting right around the corner and many strategies for growth planned for the fall I began reflecting on Conscious Lifestyle and jotted down an informal year in review.

It's hard to believe that one year ago Conscious Lifestyle was simply an idea discussed over lunch. With a tacit commitment to establish and grow the organization Thaddeus and I began forming our vision, creating a mission statement, and drawing up a timetable to get Conscious Lifestyle up and running. In the fall of 2005 I began meeting with Geno Burmester to formulate a branding platform, design our logo, and brainstorm possible marketing campaigns. At this time Thaddeus and I were also drafting articles and bylaws for Conscious Lifestyle to become a corporation and eventually file for nonprofit status with the state and federal governments. Christian Shelton, or Young Politicians of America, had served as a wonderful advisor through all of these steps, so we decided to invite him to the Board. As the year came to a close we were ready to create our website so we began fundraising and interviewing web designers.

After returning from a 2 month hiatus abroad I set out to launch consciouslifestle.org by April and achieved this goal with the help of Jean-Michel Audoubert, who is a fantastic web designer out of SF. The response to the site has been terrific. Since it has been online, my focus has been on getting it out to as many people as possible, updating the events and articles, and adding more companies. Kevin Meenan, who works in the software industry, has recently offered to head online marketing and site management for Conscious Lifestyle in order to successfully capitalize on this focus.

I won't leak the plans for the fall until after our board meeting, but I will say this: I'm very excited for Conscious Lifestyle to continue to grow as we move into our second year of operation.

If I graduated with a C average I would listen to other peoples' recommendations, such as...Oh, I don't know, that of the international community

"The United States on Thursday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution put forward by Qatar condemning Israel's two-week military incursion into Gaza."

This reminds me of when human rights organizations and many international players tried to lift the sanctions on Iraq because the mortality rate was up nearly 600% and 500,000 Iraqis (mostly children under the age of 5) had died, and yet, the US halted those groups' efforts. The suffering of Iraqi civillians didn't matter until they became pawns in the post-9/11 terrorism of neo-colonialist American policies.

Those that stand by and let Palestinians be brutalized are as guilty as the passive sideliners that refused to stand up for South African blacks who were treated as second class citizens, slaves in pre-Civil War America, and victims of genocide in Tibet, Rwanda, the Sudan and elsewhere.

It is as Dr. Kind proclaimed 43 years ago: For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant 'Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

When will we stop waiting and begin struggling alongside the poor and the oppressed? When will we get off of the sidelines and become players in the most important game of all?

'Apartheid Israel' worse than apartheid South Africa

The "apartheid Israel state" is worse than the apartheid that was conducted in South Africa, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willie Madisha said on Monday.

He said Palestinians were being attacked with heavy machinery and tanks used in war, which had never happened in South Africa.

Cosatu and other organisations supporting Palestine have called on government to end diplomatic relations with Israel and establish boycotts and sanctions such as those against apartheid South Africa.

Israel has launched several attacks on Gaza, bombing its main university and firing missiles that have killed Palestinian bystanders.

This follows the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinians.

"We see no justification for this attack," said Palestinian ambassador to South Africa Ali Hamileh.

He said while the whole world was talking about one Israeli soldier, more than 10 000 Palestinians were being kept in Israeli jails.

"My leadership made it clear ... the soldier can be released immediately if Israel responds to mediation. The demand for exchange of prisoners is justified by international law. We are not demanding something unacceptable," he said.

Professor of political science Virginia Tilley said South Africa was one of the only places where a vision had been brought forward to address collective punishment of perceived inferiority.

"I can't imagine a better beacon in that struggle than this country and it has stood back. If there is any moral authority in South Africa, it must come into play now," she said.

Madisha said Israel should be seen as an apartheid state and the same sanctions must be applied that were established against South Africa.

300 Jews from UK buy full page ad in NY Times

"WE WATCH IN HORROR the collective punishment of the people of Gaza....."

Check out this amazing ad here.

Putting it all into perspective

I just got back from my 10-day retreat and heard the latest news from Palestine. Over 9,000 Palestinians have been abducted and made political prisoners. One third of those detained - and often tortured - are under the age of 18. Now there is 1 political prisoner from Israel.

With white skin & an M-16 from the US, it's easy for Americans to see this kidnapped man as "one of ours." But I think it's important to remember this simple fact: No human is more human than any other human. When 3,000 civilians died in New York on 9/11 I cried. As three thousand Iraqi civilians have been killed ten times over, I've cried. In both cases I've felt compassion for these people and their families. Why in both cases? Because we are all human. No human deserves to be kidnapped. No human deserves to be tortured. No human deserves to be bombed.

To get perspective on how the Palestinians are being disproportunately brutalized, click here or read the article below.

Following a series of bloody June attacks on Gaza by Israeli forces, including the weekend shelling of a beach that killed 8 Palestinian civilians, including 7 members of the same family and injured a further 32 civilians, including 13 children (9 June); a missile attack on a Gazan highway that killed eleven and injured 30 (13 June); and another missile attack that killed 3 children and wounded 15 others (20 June), Palestinian militants carried out a raid on Israeli military positions near Gaza on June 25th

The raid resulted in the killing of two soldiers and the capture of one, Cpl Gilad Shalit. Israel had threatened an assault and the assassination of top Hamas leaders if the soldier was not freed, and has been deploying tanks along the border for several days. At 11:51PM* (Palestine time) on June 27th, Israel launched a large scale military assault on Gaza, as Israeli fighter planes carried out three airstrikes on Gazan bridges. Further strikes against Gazan power plants took place at 1:42AM, sending most of Gaza into darkness. At 2:24AM, Israeli forces began moving into Gaza to take control of the open areas east of Rafah.

At 5:08AM Israeli fighter planes began flying low over Gaza, causing intentional sonic booms. According to Israeli PM Ehud Olmert the aim of the invasion was "not to mete out punishment but rather to apply pressure so that the abducted soldier will be freed. We want to create a new equation — freeing the abducted soldier in return for lessening the pressure on the Palestinians."