Alan Goodman's Blog

I'll be participating in: Marxism and Israel: Left Perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

2010-11-12T08:01:00.000+02:00

I will be participating in an interesting panel discussion: Marxism and Israel: Left Perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Monday, November 15, 7pm

Thomas Hunter Hall, 930 Lexington Avenue, Room 414

2010-09-22T20:03:00.000+02:00

Take the Quiz! Israel:

Perception & Reality

Part 1. The Origins of the State of Israel, the Palestinians, and the Holocaust

Background to This Quiz:
Much of the material for this Revolution quiz comes from or was updated from a fact sheet about the state of Israel that appeared in a previous issue of this paper (when the name of the paper was the Revolutionary Worker). In the spring of 2006, a student at the School for International Training in Vermont posted that fact sheet to an online discussion group. The Dean of Graduate Studies called for a campus forum—not to debate the content of the fact sheet, but to criticize the student who sent it for violating the school’s policy on "appropriate use of the electronic media" by posting "material that may be or may be perceived as harassment"! Apparently a simple examination into the actual history of the state of Israel was verboten. The incident is alarmingly indicative of the atmosphere on college campuses and intellectual centers, where a number of prominent universities have "disinvited" or driven off campus everyone from poets to historians who’ve criticized the state of Israel.

Get the quiz here

Bob Avakian, "Why do people come here from all over the world?"

2010-07-26T07:40:00.000+03:00

Talking with Michael Slate about taking out "After the holocaust..."

2010-07-11T19:40:00.001+03:00

This was a chance to talk about a whole range of experiences taking out Bob Avakian's quote "After the holocaust, the worst thing that has happened to Jewish people is the state of Israel." We particularly focused on some of the conspiracy theory stuff I've run into that argues that Israel is NOT a strategic asset for the US in the Middle East and the world, but .... conflicts with US interests.... is a product of the corruption and manipulation of the system by the Israel lobby or "the Jews".... etc, and the actual reality embodied in the quote. Listen

"After the holocaust..." at USSF

2010-06-24T21:52:00.006+03:00

I was part of a panel (with Pam Bailey, who has a very powerful presentation on the current situation in Gaza). I talked about "After the holocaust, the worst thing that has happened to Jewish people is the state of Israel" (Bob Avakian). Controversy, as always. I showed a clip from taking this out on the streets because its good for people to actually 'experience' the experience of taking this out - 3 min clip with rough subtitles at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeUlZfCN8I0.

Radio interviews on experiences with "After the holocaust, the worst thing that has happened to Jewish people...

2010-06-19T06:48:00.001+03:00

I was interviewed on Fred Nagel's Classwars show on the Vassar College station about experiences taking out "After the holocaust, the worst thing that has happened to Jewish people" (Bob Avakian) -- among other things. I thought it was an interesting conversation -- I brought in experiences taking this out to the Holocaust Museum, KAMP, and Michael Lerner's Network of Spiritual Progressives Conference. Why is Israel something terrible that *happened to* Jewish people? Can something be morally wrong when done to one group of people, and morally right when done to another? What are the actual lessons of the holocaust? Fred had some interesting insights and did a great interview - it didn't even feel like being on the radio. Plus we chatted about meals in Cairo:

http://www.classwars.org/jun17.mp3

I mentioned to some of you that I was on a one-hour call-in show in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago engaging with a mainly African-American audience on similar themes. A lot of deeply felt solidarity for the Palestinian people, and a lot of confusion about who actually runs the world, set up Israel, and the historic role of oppressors using scapegoating to misdirect the anger of those they oppress. That station doesn't keep archives, but I'll try to get an audio to post.

Stay in touch. anyone going to the US Social Forum in Detroit?

Alan Goodman

At KAMP -- with "After the holocaust, the worst thing that has happened to Jewish people is the State of Israel."

2010-06-08T11:24:00.001+03:00

At KAMP -- with "After the holocaust, the worst thing that has happened to Jewish people is the State of Israel." 3 days after the massacre on the Mari Marvara

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4njYREbLVCs

Video available now: Condemn the Israeli Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

2010-06-04T01:29:00.000+03:00

Video recording now available (Courtesy of Fansmiles Productions.)
(Adobe Flash format. Download file, play in Windows Media Player or open file in Firefox.)
Audio recording also available.
Held June 1, Tuesday, 7pm
Emergency Forum:
Condemn the Israeli Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla
Speakers:
Alan Goodman, writer for Revolution newspaper
Chris Hedges, author, "Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle"
Abdeen Jabara, past-president of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee
Joel Kovel, author of "Overcoming Zionism: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine"
Adam Shapiro, human rights activist and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement
hosted by Andy Zee

You can't say that at Columia -- but that's intolerable!

2010-05-14T06:04:00.002+03:00

Open Letter to the Columbia Community and Challenge to Debate:

“After the Holocaust, the Worst Thing that Happened to Jewish People is the State of

Israel

”

“After the Holocaust, the Worst Thing that Happened to Jewish People is the State of

Israel

.” This is the title of a talk I gave at a town hall meeting in Manhattan last year during

Israel

’s massacre of Gaza (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzoCr5DcVig). It is a quote from Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party.

I know. You can’t say things like this at Columbia University. Even mainstream academics on campus who bring up well-known, substantiated facts about the situation of the Palestinian people or the crimes

Israel

commits against them fear for their tenure, their careers, and even their physical safety. But that’s intolerable! Anyone on this campus who has a modicum of appreciation for the importance of academic freedom and free speech should be appalled at this chilling atmosphere at Columbia in relation to one of the most important issues in the world – the nature and role of

Israel

and its crimes against the Palestinians.

The nature and role of

Israel

is central to understanding the whole situation in the Middle East, the so-called “war on terror,” and the oppression of the Palestinian people. As a correspondent for Revolution newspaper, I come from a perspective that analyzes the roots of all this in the nature of global imperialism.

The suppression of critical examination of the nature and role of

Israel

at Columbia is part of a societal ruling “out of order” any serious critique of

Israel

. I can speak to this from personal experience: Zionists posted public threats against myself and Adam Shapiro of the International Solidarity Movement when we spoke at the Manhattan emergency town hall meeting against

Israel

’s Massacre in Gaza last year. I was surrounded by 28 NYC police cars for 2 hours and issued a criminal citation for “criticizing Israel” with “no permit” (that is the wording on the citation) for holding a banner with the message of this challenge in front of the Holocaust Museum in Manhattan; and I was part of the Gaza Freedom March that was denied the ability to witness and protest the inhumane conditions Israel is imposing on Gaza – the Egyptian government under orders from the United States refused to allow us to enter Gaza.

I will make a compelling case that “After the Holocaust, the Worst Thing that Happened to Jewish People is the State of

Israel

.” I’ll debate anyone, anywhere on campus who can make something close to a serious, substantial argument that this is not true. I draw on my own personal transformation from a pro-Israel Jewish person to an internationalist who looks at the world from the interests of humanity, and a communist. And I challenge everyone in the Columbia community who finds the current dangerously distorted, censored, and suppressed atmosphere when it comes to

Israel

and its crimes to help facilitate me speaking on campus, including in a debate.

Contact me to help make this happen, or to engage in or arrange a debate next Fall:

Email: alanxgoodman@gmail.com
Website: http://alanxgoodman.blogspot.com
Revolution newspaper: www.revcom.us

Bay Area Barnstorming -- questions so far

2010-02-22T02:53:00.003+02:00

Day 2 of week long Bay Area Barnstorming with Gaza Freedom March Report-Back. Taking me to a church, a college, a high school, an art studio, and living rooms... Questions asked so far: Why historically can people in that part of the world not get along -- Christians, Jews, Muslims? Why are so many Palestinians still in Gaza? How big a factor is Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East? What is your solution, given you object to the West vs. Islamic fundamentalism choices? How does Iran fit into the picture? How do I convince my Jewish friends that Israel is wrong? What is Israel trying to accomplish by blockading Gaza? What is the story with Egypt? What about voices of dissent in Israel? Why would Israel destroy the American International School in Gaza? If Hamas is using the tunnels to bring in weapons, how can we argue against Egypt's wall to close them...

Report Back from the Gaza Freedom March - 2/21/10 Berkeley 7 PM

2010-02-17T23:17:00.007+02:00

Report Back from the Gaza Freedom March

A presentation by Alan Goodman

Sunday, February 21st at 7:00 pm, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar Street in Berkeley (at Bonita)

Alan Goodman was a participant in the Gaza Freedom March on December 31, 2009, in Cairo, and covered this historic event for Revolution newspaper.

Alan's slideshow- presentation illustrates and brings to life the critical situation for the people of Gaza one year after Israel’s massacre. It highlights the importance of the Gaza Freedom March, in breaking the siege of Gaza.

This presentation paints a vivid picture of challenges of persevering with the mission of the march in Egypt after Egyptian authorities banned the marchers from going to Gaza – including the "great debates" among the participants over whether to accept an offer from the Egyptian government to allow 100 of the 1300+ marchers into Gaza as a humanitarian mission.

And it paints a living picture of "everyday people" from around the world who, at great risk and sacrifice, went on the march.

Based on interviews with dozens of participants – some of whom have been to Gaza recently – Alan Goodman’s report-back from the Gaza Freedom March paints a living picture of the situation faced by the people of Gaza.

And, from the perspective of a reporter from Revolution newspaper (revcom.us), Alan’s presentation poses important questions about the global forces behind the blockade of Gaza, and the oppression of the Palestinian people.Bring your toughest questions about the situation of the Palestinian people, and the state of Israel! Q&A / discussion to follow presentation.

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists
1924 Cedar Street in Berkeley (at Bonita)

For information call: 510-684-8270. $10-15 at the door, sliding scale students & unemployed, no one turned away for lack of funds. Co-sponsored by the BFUU Peace & Social Justice Committee, Oakland Educational Association Peace & Justice Caucus, and Revolution Book.

The Gaza Freedom March: A Call to the World Part I:

2010-01-27T04:55:00.003+02:00

The Gaza Freedom March: Part I: Locked Down in Cairo - in REVOLUTION newspaper

by Alan Goodman

At precisely 10 am on December 31, 2009, a dozen or so "tourists" moved swiftly into eight lanes of traffic in the middle of a main thoroughfare through the center of Cairo, Egypt. Hundreds of signs in English and Arabic emerged from suitcases and backpacks: "End the Siege!" "Free Gaza!" This was the signal. Within seconds, hundreds of other "tourists" poured into the streets to join them — the Gaza Freedom March was on! After an hour of pandemonium, security forces had managed to push the protesters to the sidewalk, where they were surrounded and detained by phalanxes of riot police for seven hours. The Gaza Freedom March, which was already front-page news in Egypt and the Middle East, became a living call to the world: Free Gaza! Read on…

video clips from my report back on Gaza Freedom March

2010-01-20T16:41:00.001+02:00

3 clips up at www.youtube.com/alanxgoodman from the presentation I'm using for report-backs on the Gaza Freedom March.

Also, seems people are finding my talk at the Emergency Town Hall Meeting to Oppose the Massacre in Gaza last year relevant, including the arguments I made to speak to people who keep asking "but what about those Hamas rockets?"

REVOLUTION: Gaza Freedom March Issues a Call to the World

2010-01-11T09:06:00.005+02:00

Read the article

PDF poster

On the Michael Slate Show - KPFK & Report Back at Revolution Books NYC

2010-01-09T17:56:00.001+02:00

Talking about the Gaza Freedom March on the Michael Slate show on KPFK, Los Angeles, Friday 1/9/10.

Report back from Gaza Freedom March - Revolution Books, New York City, Sunday 1/17/10 - 4 PM

Stories to tell!

2010-01-03T09:46:00.010+02:00

Over the course of participating in, and covering the Gaza Freedom March for REVOLUTION, I recorded some 30 interviews with participants. Those interviews tell the stories of people who at great risk and sacrifice left their families, jobs, and countries to be part of the March. These interviews also provide a window into the conditions and lives of the Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere.

They include the experiences of the Bahrain delegation -- a doctor and a nurse who were in Gaza during the war.... the story of a woman whose husband is in Gaza, and who documented the brutal conditions and irrepressible spirit of people there last May, five months after Israel's "war" (massacre)... the experience of the a Jewish woman from the U.S. who was provoked by the Israeli-orchestrated massacre of Palestinians in the Lebanese refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla to discover the roots of Israel in ethnic cleansing, and then to go on the "Birthright unplugged" tour and witness the situation in the West Bank...

Photos: Above- Teachers at The American International School in Gaza stand outside their former school building last May. The building was destroyed by Israel in last year's massacre of Gaza; Right - the takeout window at Sam's Pizza in Gaza City. Credits: Linda Todd, used with permission - if reprinted please credit.

And the interviews paint a picture of our experiences here, including that of the Luxembourg delegation (10 people from a tiny country in Europe) who made it to the northern Egyptian town of Al Arish near the Gaza border and who spent their confinement there mobilizing the local population in opposition to Egypt's planned wall....with people who participated in the activities of the GFM all over Cairo

I interviewed students, political activists... people who identified their values as Christians, Muslims or Jews as motivating factors.... about why they came. The interviews shed light on why all kinds of "normal everyday" people awakened to the real situation of the Palestinian people -- experiences they had that opened their eyes... and what it was about their backgrounds that made them receptive to hearing, seeing, and thinking about the situation of the Palestinians. They show the potential for mobilizing the people of the world to support the liberation of Palestine, and to oppose the crimes of Israel and the U.S. and the whole network of oppressive power in the Middle East.

And there are different perspectives and insights on the causes of the oppression of the Palestinian people, and how that fits into a larger picture of a world of oppression and injustice.

Here's how you can help make this material available to the world:

* Post or email me (alanxgoodman@gmail.com) your suggestions on how to present this material in REVOLUTION newspaper, at revcom.us, or in other ways....
* Volunteer to transcribe one or more of these interviews.
* Volunteer to translate this material into Spanish for Revolución, or into Arabic (or other languages)
* Network / collectivize / dialog on how those of us who were part of and documented this experience in different forms can amplify its impact.
* Arrange to have me speak to your students, your activist group, your community organization, your church/mosque/synagogue, radio show, etc... including as part of group report-backs from the GFM.
* Include me on panels / forums / debates in Israel and Palestine (consult before listing me of course)
* Other ideas?

Again, feel free to post ideas here, or email me at alanxgoodman@gmail.com.

Walls

2010-01-01T07:47:00.021+02:00

New Year's Eve, Cairo: One critical impetus for the Gaza Freedom March is the impeding move by Egypt to build a deep wall at the Gaza border that would cut off the flow of essential survival material for the people of Gaza. I’ll be writing more about the nature of this planned wall, and the terrible danger it presents based on what I’ve learned from other delegates on the March. Stopping that wall has been a demand of the Gaza Freedom March.

Right: The Egyptian mass media, even while providing somewhat sympathetic (and very prominent) coverage for the Gaza Freedom March, has been inundating the public with fears that "drugs and contraband" are going through the Gaza tunnels and endangering Egypt's security. This from a regime that has blocked any possibility of legal commerce and criminalized the transport of any goods in or out of Gaza.
* * *

Tonight, a bunch of us including a young crew from Canada are relaxing a bit in the hotel lobby, summing up the tumultuous events of the last few days, and watching one of the cable news neworks. A story comes on about the impact of global warming on the highly vulnerable country of Bangladesh – a country which is almost entirely very near sea level. A slight rise in the level of the world’s oceans, resulting from the melting of glacial and polar ice, threatens to flood much of Bangladesh – a densely populated country of 160 million people.

This particular story focused on how Bangladesh’s larger, more powerful neighbor, India, is building a wall, 2,100 miles long, to seal the border between the two countries. The high, heavily reinforced barbed wire fence is not going to keep out water, it’s being built to keep out people. Scientists are saying that some 15 million people will be displaced in low-lying regions of Bangaldesh by mid-century, and the wall is to seal them into desperate Bangladesh and out of India

When the story ended, a delegate commented with bitter insight: “Seems like the solution to everything these days is to build a wall.”

What an indicting truth! In a world that so badly needs global cooperation among people, all the capitalist system can do is build walls – to keep people out, or to keep people in. All, in one way or another, to fortify a system of grotesque inequality and brutal oppression.

* * *

What almost nobody knows, these days, is that in a communist world, people would be able to pool their energies, creativity, and unleash the positive side of diversity and uneven development to solve the massive problems humanity faces.

As the editorial in the current issue of REVOLUTION says: “The world cries out for revolution, communist revolution which, as the Manifesto from the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA states, can bring ‘a whole different way of life…in which human beings, individually and above all in their mutual interaction with each other, can throw off the heavy chains of tradition and rise to their full height and thrive in ways never before experienced, or even fully imagined.’ (Communism: The Beginning of a New Stage. A Manifesto from the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, September 2008. See revcom.us.) A revolution to bring about this whole new era in human history is both necessary and possible. And we have, in Bob Avakian, the leadership we need to advance on this path…"

- - -
Links: Global Warming: Catastrophe from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal | Excerpt from Raymond Lotta webcast: "The Elephant in the Room: Can Anything Short of Revolution Solve the Environmental Crisis?"

Gaza Freedom March ... a Call to the World

2009-12-31T19:11:00.013+02:00

12/31/09, Cairo: Around 5 PM Cairo time, an inspiring Gaza Freedom March concluded in Cairo. The march took over a major thoroughfare in the heart of Cairo briefly, and was then pushed by police to the sidewalk where it was surrounded by phalanxes of police.

By 5 PM, penned in protesters were released, but only after they organized their confinement camp into a living manifestation of the demands: End the Seige of Gaza, Free Gaza.

The Gaza Freedom March cracked through the tsunami of wildly distorted pro-Israel coverage of the situation in Gaza in mainstream US and European papers from the New York Times to Le Monde. It got major coverage in the Middle East - Al Jazeera filmed tonights protest. Tens of thousands of Egyptians and tourists saw the March, and the story is all over the news in Cairo (photo at right is tonight's Cairo paper). More and more Egyptians are coming up to us on the street, expressing support for the protest in different ways. It appears that some Egyptians joined the protest and at least one may have been singled out and abducted by Egyptian security.

The march, originally planned for Gaza, was held in Cairo because the Egyptian government confined most of the 1350 participants from 43 countries to Cairo. In the course of fighting thru police state repression, and intransigent efforts by the Egyptian government and their US sponsors to stop the march, those involved strengthened their collective commitment to the mission of the Gaza Freedom March, reached out and began to connect with people in Egypt (see The Sleeping Giant post below), and became a major event around the world at a critical moment -- when the world powers are moving to literally starve the people of Gaza into death or submission with the wall planned at the Egyptian border.

There is so much to digest, so many stories to tell, and so much to learn from this whole experience about the situation in Gaza, and the struggle to end the siege of Gaza.... And also much to think about and learn from the conversations about what it will take to "free Gaza" and beyond that, to bring about a world free of all oppression. I'll be blogging more and writing after I catch my breath. But for now, a moment to appreciate: A call that has been issued from Cairo to the world.

Photos below are from inside the protest, previous post has photos from outside the confinement area. Watch video at Guardian (UK). Thanks to so many GFM people for photos.

Gaza Freedom March in Downtown Cairo

2009-12-31T14:26:00.009+02:00

CAIRO 2 PM 12/31

No, the photo at the right is not of U.S troops marching out from a base in Afghanistan or Iraq, it's the Cairo police moving on the Gaza Freedom March. At this moment, 300 or so Gaza Freedom Marchers are surrounded by police in the middle of downtown Cairo, amidst the embassies, the museums. And in the midst of this, getting the message of breaking the siege of Gaza, and "free Gaza," out to thousands of thousands.

First two pictures below - going into the streets. Third - 2 PM, surrounded by police, reaching out to the world.

The Sleeping Giant....

2009-12-30T04:32:00.010+02:00

12/29/09, Cairo: Tonight our GFM internationals were invited to join with Egyptian students who were protesting Egyptian president Mubarak's meeting with Israel's prime minister Netenyahu. Ostensibly the two were meeting to restart the "peace process" that has unfolded in the form of more and more death and horror for the Palestinian people. But, in the midst of widespread outrage and fury in the region over the situation for the people in Gaza, the meeting served as an in-your-face statement about the role of the Egyptian regime in all this. The protest was outside the Journalists Syndicate hall, an impressive building in downtown Cairo.

For the first time, in our time here, we are working with Egyptian students -- the crowd chanting on the steps was roughly half Arabic and English. The demands: LIFT THE SIEGE OF GAZA! STOP THE GENOCIDE! FREE PALESTINE!

Egyptians, including sizeable numbers of college-age women, are half the crowd -- the other half internationals with GFM. We are used to being shadowed and harassed, detained, and sometimes violently assaulted by plain-clothes Egyptian security forces who ride around in pickup trucks they can jump out of like the Islamic regime's thugs in Iran. But the massive police presence at this protest was on another level -- rows of riot police with helmets lined up in front of the protest, and trucks to haul in police, and haul people away were lined up at the end of the block.

But the atmosphere was electric -- almost literally, as bright spotlights flooded the steps of the Journalists Syndicate building with white light in the dark Cairo evening. In the organized chaos, I grab any Egyptian student I can to talk to. The first one tells me that there are other protests elsewhere in Egypt against Netenyahu's visit, and the planned wall to strangle Gaza by closing the Egyptian tunnels. I ask him about the risks he is taking. He talks about what is happening in Iran, and that he has a feeling an eruption like that might be not too far beneath the surface in Egypt.

Next I find myself interviewing a professor who has studied in France. He is in his sixties, and his command of English is elegant and nuanced. He knows about the Gaza Freedom March: "I know, I know," he says when I describe what the authorites are doing to keep us from getting to Gaza. "It is important that you people go to Gaza" he tells me. I ask him for an assessment of the movement of opposition in Egypt

"It's a police state here," he says with the tone of a prof patiently explaining something basic to a slow student. He pauses to indicate with subtle eye motion the phalanx of riot police. "If you foreigners weren't here we'd be getting clobbered bloody right now." I ask what impact it is having on Egyptian society that the regime has detained the GFM people in Cairo (and other cities in Egypt)? "They have made a huge mistake. They're dumb," he says. "They have ended up making a bigger deal out of this." He is sticking his neck way out to be on the steps tonight, and he reminds me that "your embassy is calling the shots in all this, you know."

Two young women college students are discretely passing out flyers in Arabic. Can anyone translate? They appear to ignore my request and walk away, but come back in a few minutes with a guy who speaks English. "You are a journalist?" Yes. "You should be at the press conference, go in the building to the 4th floor." I consult with friends from the GFM -- does anyone know what's going on inside? What is at the 4th floor? Anybody seen anyone go in there? Or come out? Nobody knows, but it seems important to find out. I exchange cell phone numbers with GFM friends, and people promise to respond if I do not return from the building. I go in, and take the elevator to the 4th floor.

The Journalist Syndicate building is big and modern -- similar in size and amenities to a newer classroom building at UCLA or NYU. Another striking feature: It's the first building of almost any size I've been in in Egypt without cops or security hovering around.

I get off the elevator and follow the crowd into a massive meeting hall. Quick headcount: 700 people. Everyone is speaking Arabic. Help! A young man comes to my aid. The press conference, he explains, has been called by the Journalist Syndicate along with other groups. The crowd? Lawyers, journalists, professionals, he says, "and me - an accountant," he smiles. It's all being explained quickly, but he tells me the panelists are prominent, respected journalists in Egypt who cannot be heard in the mainstream media, along with at least one attorney, and an Indian journalist (I believe from a Muslim paper in India, he speaks Arabic).The list of sponsoring organizations is hard to follow but I recognize the word "communist" in the name of one of the groups - whatever that might mean here. And it does seem that there is what one might call a "secular left" in the region that has some influence. I direct all interested in something besides capitalism (or Islamic fundamentalism) to check out "Communism: The Beginning of a New Stage, A Manifesto from the Revolutionary Communist Party." Wish it was available in Arabic right now! Anyone capable of providing a translation?

My newly enlisted translator is fluent, poetic and simultaneous. Not bad for an accountant... or anyone else. I do my best to keep up -- madly scribbling notes --but errors in the following quotes are my fault, not his. The first speaker welcomes the crowd: "Today, a terrible crime is being committed. A war is being waged against Gaza in the form of a wall. Mubarak is building it. Egypt can wait no longer to stand with Gaza!"

The format takes some getting used to for me - this is not a traditional rally. Applause is restrained. Attention is rapt. A cell phone goes off, and the mc stops the event to sternly warn against that happening again. I learn later that the Journalists Syndicate facility is, for a combination of reasons including its proximity to a major court facility, is so-far off-limits to the security forces, with the proviso that events are confined within its walls and do not extend onto the steps and into the street (as is happening tonight). And it appears the press conference format serves as a form of protest under conditions of extreme repression.

One speaker is an attorney who indicts the Mubarak regime for war crimes. He says that Egypt was an early signer of the Geneva Convention, and that the wall, which will kill civilians in Gaza, is a war crime. And then he begins telling the audience about how the regime is detaining the Gaza Freedom Marchers in Egypt. My translator nudges me - "he's talking about you! right?" People nearby hear that. "You're one of them?" Yes.This creates a buzz on our side of the room. The speaker issues a demand: "They must not be turned around at Rafah (the border crossing into Gaza from Egypt)." "Today," he says, "is a different feeling for us. We are standing up together as Muslims and Christians. I find no polite words but am trying. People are angry. The wall is going up, people in Gaza will die. We can talk all night about utilizing proper procedures but that won't change anything!"

I have heard about the long detentions, the beatings, and torture that are the fate of those who defy the regime here. There has been discussion amongst us about the appropriateness of connecting with the struggles of the Egyptian people. I am thinking about this, and am filled with emotion -- I nearly cry -- when a speaker says, "We appreciate people from other countries who stand with us and we welcome them and their sincere activism."

I emerge from the press conference back into the Cairo night. The crowd of protesters has thinned considerably, and -- unable to understand the Arabic messages on my cell phone -- I finally realize that the SIM card I bought from a dude on the street has run out of time. Luckily, a couple friends who are shooting documentary footage of all this have stayed to wait for me. We find a quiet spot, and they interview me about the experience for their project.

Then we rush off to the hotel where major discussions and debate is going on over how to advance the cause of the Gaza Freedom March. I share the experience at the press conference, and it becomes part of the picture of complex, contradictory, and rather intriguing mix of factors we are dealing with. There are other interesting experiences of interacting with Egyptians, who are singled out viciously by the authorities for threats and attack when they associate with us. We didn't come here to protest in Egypt, we thought we had an arrangement to quickly pass through into Gaza. But the struggle for justice, let alone profound, radical, social change, is never a straight line. It's a complex, multi-level, windy road. And the struggle to break the siege of Gaza is -- as is being brought into increasingly sharp relief -- a global one that ultimately can only rely on the people of the world.

So, here we are in Egypt.... struggling to get the Gaza Freedom March into Gaza.

And in that context, we are working to wrench opportunity out of difficult conditions. Egypt is a big country, the largest (in population) in the Middle East, and the 2nd largest in Africa. Right now, Egypt is a link in the chain around the necks of the Palestinians, and a brick in the wall* of global imperialist exploitation and oppression. But there are pressures from below (I'll share more on that factor later), and it seems, profound anger and discontent stirring among important sections of the middle class.

Someone passes me a daily paper from Cairo -- the heroic French Gaza Freedom March delegation, who has been camped out in the hundreds on the sidewalk in front of the French embassy for 3 days now, is the main story. Egyptians will wake up to that story tomorrow.When will the sleeping giant awaken?
-----------
* See the video statement by Roger Waters in support of Gaza Freedom March

It's not our embassy....

2009-12-29T16:58:00.010+02:00

12/29/09, Cairo: The repression, house arrests, and state of siege against those of us on the Gaza Freedom March is tightening here in Egypt.... and new channels of creative protest are being forged. There are many forms of protest today in Cairo over the Egyptian government's refusal to allow the Gaza Freedom Marchers into Gaza. At the US embassy, 42 or so people were brutally corralled and detained outside while attempting to lodge complaints -- one person was lifted up and tossed over security lines by Egyptian security forces. The U.S. Embassy staff claimed the detentions were carried out by Egyptian police in reaction to a protest outside the embassy (of which there was none), but the Egyptian commander on the scene told those detained the US embassy was directing things; A U.S. embassy 'observer' was overseeing the operation without identifying himself to the detainees.

As of late PM, the detainees were being allowed to register their grievances before embassy staff, and get told that blocking our entry into Gaza is a decision by the sovereign state of Egypt and it would be inappropriate for the US to interfere.

And we all know that the U.S would never tell any "sovereign state," like the Egyptian regime (the 3rd largest recipient of US "aid," and one of the countries to which the US sent detainees to be tortured under the rendition program)... what to do.

Yeah. Right.

It is, in reality, thru this "chain of command" that the orders flow that have locked us down in Cairo (along with a few dozen people with GFM who are under virtual house arrest in Al Arish near the Gaza border), in an attempt to further islolate the people in Gaza. It is through these channels that the vice around the Palestinians in Gaza is being imposed thru a deadly blockade. And now, a massive is being planned and built to shut down the tunnels through which Gazans get just enough to eat and live (mainstream news sources report that the US Army Corps of Engineers is involved in building the wall). All in the interests of global empire.

I am reminded of Bob Avakian's statement during the Iran hostage crisis: It's not our embassy, it's the embassy of the imperialist ruling class... ("From Ike to Mao and Beyond: My Journey From Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist," chapter 23).

Egyptian Authorities Stop Gaza Freedom March From Leaving Cairo

2009-12-28T11:04:00.010+02:00

Dec 28- Cairo: At dawn today, hundreds of people from around the world were set to depart from Cairo, Egypt for Gaza to participate in the Gaza Freedom March – protesting on the one-year anniversary of Israel’s massacre in Gaza, and demanding an end to the ongoing state of siege that is killing the people of Gaza.

After Egyptian authorities forced the original bus company to refuse to take us to Al Arish, near the Egypt-Gaza border, march organizers chartered other buses to take us to the area as tourists. Again, Egyptian security forces intimidated the bus company into not sending buses. Egyptian police also shut down the rendezvous point in central Cairo -- there was a wild scene as they chased off taxis attempting to drop off delegates, while activists attempted to make it possible for passengers to arrive.

TOP photo: Egyptian security forces attack activists from Code Pink (upper left corner of photo), and chase off taxis attempting to drop people off. (bottom right of photo). MIDDLE photos: Delegates to the Gaza Freedom March, penned in by police, reach out to the people of Cairo: "Let Us Go to Gaza!... Free Gaza!" BOTTOM: Protest at the UN in Cairo later in the day where Hedy Epstein, an 85 year old Holocaust survivor and others began a hunger strike today as a response to the Egyptian government’s refusal to allow the Gaza Freedom March participants into Gaza.

Those who were able to make their way to the rendezvous point were cordoned in behind police barricades for a couple of hours, before being allowed to leave. They unfurled banners in English and Arabic saying "Let Us Go To Gaza," and "Free Gaza." For two hours, internationals - as many call themselves, from Japan, the US, England, Europe and elsewhere sang and chanted in English and Arabic, and were joined by a number of Egyptians -- a new development as up to now, the organizers of the march had acceded to demands of the Egyptian government to not involve Egyptian citizens in Gaza Freedom March activities in Cairo.
For two hours, this major scene in the middle of Cairo connected with people going to work in Cairo.

People are regrouping, discussing plans, reaching out more to the people of Cairo, and taking heart from a sit-in outside the French embassy by hundreds of French people who are in Cairo attempting to get to the Gaza Freedom March. I have met internationals from around the world and will be sharing their stories, and reporting on the next moves...

Subscribe, share this link, and stay tuned.

Later in the day...

On the ground in Cairo

2009-12-28T10:46:00.005+02:00

Dec 29 - Cairo: Cairo is overwhelming --17 million people in the metro area. The streets are filled with young people late into the night. The city is a cacophony of activity and sound. The ride from the airport was a high-speed bumper car experience with police checkpoints along the way… But no time to get my bearings, there's much to do.

I knew (and posted) that Egyptian authorities have declared there will be no crossing for our delegation into Gaza. Things have intensified. With meeting places closed, people are regrouping in small groups, networking, and sharing info. I bump into 3 “internationals” as delegates to the GFM refer to themselves. Two from Europe, one from Canada. They fill me in on the day’s events in more detail.

The bus company that was to take us to near the Gaza border was pressured to pull out. Delegates who have made it on their own to Al Arish, the Egyptian resort town an hour (by car) from the Gaza border are essentially under house arrest in their hotel. Egyptian police, and “secret police” with walkie talkies under their jackets are following every group of delegates around Cairo, breaking up gatherings, or surrounding them and not allowing them to move. A commemoration ceremony for the 1400 killed in Gaza in the "war" last year was broken up by police who threw memorial flowers into a river.

They share stories of being shadowed and threatened by the authorities while finding ways to get into the streets and the news. Small groups gather at times with quickly made signs, and chant “free Palestine” in English and Arabic. Is all this big news in the US? If this was China during the Olympics, and the protesters were Tibetan or Chinese dissidents, this would be front page New York Times for months (not to dismiss or downplay the oppression of Tibettans and suppression of dissent in today's capitalist / pseudo-socialist China, just noting the gross hypocrisy).

The manager of the shop where we are talking is listening in. He apologizes for the Egyptian police. That’s not you, I say -- we understand. We have the same problem, our government isn’t us either.

Delegates from France, the US, and other countries were encouraged to visit their embassies and ask their governments to intercede. The Europeans tell me they went to the US embassy, where only a delegation of 3 people were allowed into the embassy, they were not allowed to talk to anyone of import, and only given five minutes to raise their complaints to someone. They were assured though, that the embassy was “very concerned.” I describe to the others the story of the movie “Missing,” and the “concern” the US embassy showed for a US student murdered by Pinochet in a US-sponsored coup. No, that’s not “our” government.

A couple from Europe read my previous post. I ask them for their perception of / insights into Americans? They had thought that maybe America came to its senses with the election of Obama but now they are in turmoil tryign to figure out what that really meant. They know about the “rednecks” who hate Obama in America, but wonder if he’s really any better than Bush? We begin to sift thru that, but we have to get up before sunrise, and I gotta go write up and post this blog.

Tomorrow morning, we will attempt to leave en-masse for the Gaza border. Stay tuned.!

Photo: dawn breaks over smoggy Cairo

En Route: A tale of 2 papers

2009-12-27T23:41:00.007+02:00

The flight attendant is pushing a small shopping cart of newspapers down the aisle of the airplane. Most of the papers are in Arabic, which unfortunately I cannot read. One is in English – the Jordan Times. I look at page 1, and see an article on the front page: “Gaza convoy remains in Aqaba as Egypt talks at impasse.” Whoh! We’re on page 1 in Jordan? It turns out that the article is actually about another delegation, a humanitarian convoy of including ambulances, trucks, vans and jeeps from England, Turkey and other places (actually, we do make page 1 - an update of the story in the Dec 27 edition includes substantial coverage of the Egyptian government’s blocking of the GFM).

I read the rest of the paper. One article is about how Christians in Gaza (mostly Greek Orthodox) don’t have much to celebrate. One holiday “human interest story” details the situation of a Christian family in Gaza who were denied permits to make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem by the Israeli’s because the mother in the family is under 35 years old, and therefore ineligible to get Israeli permission to travel from one part of Palestine (Gaza) to another (the West Bank). One gift shop owner is only selling posters of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel – there isn’t much market for Christmas presents, and the article says that Gazans find “scant holiday cheer ”on the 1 year anniversary of the so-called “war” – Israel’s massacre at the end of last year, and the beginning of ’09.

Before I left, I solicited questions from people of very different perspectives – things they wanted me to investigate. One asked, how can people in Gaza support Hamas? The Jordan Times does not appear to have a pro-Hamas slant at all. But an article notes – in passing – the obvious: In the “war” last year, 1400 Gazans were killed, compared to 13 Israelis, and this, the article notes, “swelled the ranks of Hamas.”

You want to end that cycle? Let's start with opposing Israel's crimes and "our own" government's role in backing them.

On page 4, another article details a strike on “suspected terrorists” in Yemen on Dec 17^th of this year. The article says that President Obama “approved” the raid, According to civilian authorities, the attack (details were very vague in the article) resulted in the death of some 49 civilians, including many women and children, Did you read about that? How big was that on the news in the US? Then, several days later, the article says two protesting young people were killed (the article doesn’t explain by whom).

I finish reading the Jordan Times and pick up the Xmas edition of USA Today: There is a page one story about how in some states in the U.S., police are giving out coupons for chicken sandwiches for motorists stopped for seatbelt checks who have their seatbelts on. The letters page celebrates “our” troops " who are "protecting our country” … in in Iraq & Afghanistan.

People in other countries, who do not have as much of reality hidden from them, distorted, and turned upside down, must wonder wtf is wrong with Americans .

They need to see, and know that 1300 people from around the world, including hundreds of Americans, are determined to join the Gaza Freedom March on Dec 31. Powerful forces around the world are determined to keep that from happening, and people around the world are being challenged to make it possible for this to happen. Stay tuned.

check out: FOOTNOTES IN GAZA

2009-12-25T18:26:00.002+02:00

As I’m getting ready to leave, I’m reading the graphic novel (actually graphic photo-journalism book) FOOTNOTES IN GAZA, written and illustrated by Joe Sacco. There’s an interesting review of the book in this Sunday’s New York Times. It vividly illustrates (literally) two Israeli massacres in Gaza in 1956. One (as far as I have read as of this posting) documents the Khan Younis massacre vividly, humanly, giving voice to the victims and the survivors. Little known to the world, these events are foundational to understanding the current situation in Gaza and Palestine, the nature of Israel and its backers.

The political struggle to get into Gaza intensifies

2009-12-25T18:15:00.002+02:00

The political struggle to get the Egyptian authorities to grant international delegates to the Gaza Freedom March permission to cross into Gaza is sharpening up. Egypt’s decision, at this point, to close the border crossing into Gaza during the time we are scheduled to cross is a significant event in international news (BBC, Hindustan Times, Brunei World... In the US, unless you listen to Democracy Now, you haven’t heard about it. The BBC reports that Egypt warned that anyone attempting the crossing from Egypt would be "dealt with by the law." I’m not familiar with this publication, but a fellow-delegate sent me a link to an interesting analysis of Egypt’s position at a publication called Faster Times titled “Egypt Builds Walls and Bans Protests to Navigate the Gaza Border.” One thing that is becoming more and more clear to me is how ferociously, and yes, desperately, the world’s powers (and those whose strings they pull) are determined to suppress any news of the actual situation in Gaza and the conditions of the people there, and crush any expressions of outrage and opposition to that. The situation is unfolding rapidly, so again – stay tuned, subscribe to this blog, and send links to everyone you know.

A brief note on the status of our delegation

2009-12-25T00:50:00.003+02:00

Over the past few days, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry informed march organizers that the crossing into Gaza from Egypt will be closed during the time we are scheduled to cross. It is very important that the march organizers, and participants, have responded that we are not changing our plans. This march is so important, and it is also critically important that we are able to witness, and then share with the world the situation the people of Gaza face. This is a story that all the great powers in the world today want suppressed, in particular “our own” government that backs and supports Israel’s crimes. The March organizers are calling on people to contact representatives of the Egyptian government and call on them to allow our delegation to proceed. I encourage all of you to do this (info is in the previous posting), and to follow events closely. And, to email my blog address to all your lists. I’ll be updating this blog as events develop.

* * *

Let's all start thinking and organizing now on how to maximize the impact of this trip. I'm ready to speak to groups large and small when I get back. It will also be important to schedule talks to student groups who have budgets for speakers, as a way for me to pay back substantial money that was lent to me for this trip. Contact me: alanxgoodman@gmail.com.

Urgent update on status of Gaza Freedom March

2009-12-21T21:05:00.000+02:00

From the organizers...
For Immediate Release: December 21st, 2009
Contact: Ann Wright
019 508 1493 (Cairo), microann@yahoo.com

Gaza Freedom March is determined to break the siege
1,360 International Delegates appeal to Egypt to let the March proceed

Citing escalating tensions on the Gaza-Egypt border, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry informed us on December 20 that the Rafah border will be closed over the coming weeks, into January. We responded that there is always tension at the border because of the siege and that if there are any risks, they are risks we are willing to take. We also said that it was too late for over 1,360 delegates coming from over 42 countries to change their plans now...
Read entire press release plus what you can do

Getting ready to go to the Gaza Freedom March

2009-12-21T20:30:00.000+02:00

I'm preparing to go on the Gaza Freedom March – in Gaza, Palestine – on New Years Day. And, to spend time in Gaza learning first hand about the lives of the people and the conditions they face. This march marks the one-year anniversary of Israel's horrific assault on Gaza. A UN delegation led by Richard Goldstone said the blockade that preceded the assault constituted "violations of international human rights and humanitarian law," and that in the war itself, Israel's target was "at least in part… the people of Gaza as a whole.” (for an insightful summary of, and analysis of the Goldstone report, how it has come under attack, and why it was ignored by the U.N, see " Gaza UN report: The U.S. and Israel vs. the truth," by A World To Win News Service).

I'll be reporting from Gaza for Revolution and beyond, and I'm going to use this blog to share news as it happens, bounce my thoughts off of you, and pose questions that I'm investigating or thinking about. So, here we go with missive #1…

Preparing for the trip has been inspiring, and eye opening. I've had a chance to meet dozens of people from the U.S. who are going – religious activists (including Muslims and Jews), people from the Middle East, activists who have been protesting Israel's crimes against the Palestinians for years, and a significant number of college students – many of them women.

It's very heartening to hear people from the U.S., from many walks of life, talk about their motivation to brave dangers and make this trip. The courageous example of Rachel Corrie came up at an orientation meeting, and that is a factor that inspires people. In future postings, I'll be sharing more about the people going, and their motivations and stories. There are, of course, lively and intense discussions, exchanges and disagreements among those going over politics, religion, culture and our various understandings of the foundational factors and causes that have led to the intolerable situation in Gaza – even as we all oppose the blockade of Gaza and stand in solidarity with the people there (the march as a whole takes no position on the current Gaza administration).

I've also had a chance to network with, and get valuable advice from artists and writers with ties to and deep knowledge of the Middle East – including an influential artist in the region whose work explores with sensitivity the experiences of women discovering sexuality, the oppression of women, and homosexuality – not topics one might associate with popular culture in the Middle East these days. I'm curious to learn more about what this represents.

Finally – and importantly -- I want to make you all aware that our trip depends on the Egyptian authorities allowing us to enter Gaza. This will be touch-and-go until we cross the border. Those going are mobilizing public opinion in Egypt, and around the world, to create a climate where the Egyptian authorities do not impede or delay us. If there are well known or influential people among those reading this posting, or people who know such people, letters to the Egyptian government affirming the importance of allowing our delegation expeditious and unhindered crossing into Gaza will be helpful, maybe critical. Those letters can be emailed to me, and I will make them available to the march organizers, or they can be sent to the march's Government Liaison and Logistics coordinator in Gaza/Egypt -- Ann Wright -- at microann@yahoo.com.

Stay tuned!
Alan Goodman

Contribute to Send Revolution Reporter to Gaza

2009-12-18T22:13:00.000+02:00

Over the winter holiday this year, Revolution correspondent Alan Goodman will be participating in and reporting from the Gaza Freedom March. We need your financial help to do this.

People are coming from all around the world to participate in this march, which marks the one-year anniversary of Israel’s massacre in Gaza, Palestine. The main demand of the march is an end to the blockade that has cut Gaza off from the world, and prevents people from receiving even necessary food and medical supplies. Before the march, Alan Goodman will be able to spend several days in Gaza, witnessing the devastation of last year’s one-sided war, and the impact of the blockade first hand.

Revolution newspaper has analyzed and exposed the situation for the people of Gaza, and the underlying global and regional forces and interests at work. This trip will strengthen our ability to do so. And beyond that, actually being on the ground in Gaza, talking to people, learning about their lives, their culture, their dreams and their questions will help make it possible to paint a living, breathing, and truthful picture of people who are confined to what has been called the world’s largest outdoor prison. It will help bring to light the lives of people who the most powerful forces on earth have sought to dehumanize.

When Alan Goodman returns from Gaza, he will energetically reach out to audiences large and small to tell the world what he’s seen, and in so doing impel people to politically oppose the crimes of Israel and the U.S. This is particularly important right here in the U.S., the country that provides full backing for Israel’s horrific crimes against the Palestinian people. And in the course of doing that outreach, there will be many opportunities to open people’s eyes to a whole other way the world could be—without imperialism or oppression of any kind.

The budget for this trip is substantial, and large donations are necessary. In addition, we strongly encourage many of you to raise and donate smaller amounts. We will also appreciate suggestions on how to spread the word broadly when Alan Goodman gets back, including your thoughts on speaking and writing opportunities in, and beyond Revolution.

To contribute to this project, send checks and money orders, with "Alan Goodman Travel" in the memo field, to RCP Publications, PO Box 3486 Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654.