If Americans Knew

Arabs rally against Israeli raids

Thousands of people in the Arab world have attended rallies to express anger at Israel's air raids on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Protesters burned Israeli and American flags in a string of Arab cities and demanded a stronger response from their leaders to Israel's "aggression".

BBC

Violent protests at Israeli Embassy in London

Violent confrontations broke out at the Israeli Embassy in London today as up to 1,500 protesters against Israel's Gaza campaign gathered in a vociferous demonstration.

Campaign supporters, Palestinians and British Muslims stood on the pavement of High Street Kensington, west London, and chanted in unison: “Five, six, seven, eight - Israel is a terror state.”

Timesonline UK

Gaza's hospitals struggle with casualties - 28 Dec 08

Hamas press conference after Israeli Gaza strikes - 27 Dec 08

Palestinians agree to 24-hour lull

Hamas and other factions have agreed to halt the firing of rockets into Israel for 24 hours to allow aid to be delivered to Gaza, a Hamas official has said.

An Egyptian convoy carrying food and medical supplies worth $1m is expected to be let into the Gaza Strip, after Hamas agreed to the unilateral temporary Egypt-mediated truce on Monday.

by Aljazeera

In Memory of Riad Hamad, 1952-2008, Palestine Activist

In Memory of Riad Hamad, 1952-2008

Father, teacher, and activist and friend

Through the Colorado Palestine Solidarity Campaign, I have worked with Riad Hamad and the Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund since 2003. Despite talking via the phone and email, the first time we met face-to-face was at the Palestine Solidarity Conference (“Divestment Conference”) at Duke University in 2004 where we shared Eid dinner. After this, we often met at other national events, the last of which was the U.S. Campaign mobilization for Palestine in Washington D.C.

Funny, charming, and clearly driven to help the children of Palestine despite years of harassment (none of which ever revealed any wrongdoing) by the government; the Palestine solidarity movement and society in general has lost a valued and dedicated contributor. Riad Hamad was truly one of the most valuable of activists in that he wasn’t interested in “playing politics” within the activist movement; but instead simply found ways he could make a difference and set out to do so with or without support and assistance from others. He lived very modestly and there has never been an accusation that even a single penny of the money he raised was misappropriated, everything went to help the cause. Further, he found and accepted allies of all stripes, working with Palestinians, other Arab groups, Israeli peace activists, Jewish-Americans (like myself), and anyone else willing to contribute to his various projects and initiatives.

Although the circumstances of his death strike me as being questionable (bound, gagged, and floating in a lake); both the police ([PDF]) and the family ([PDF]) have made the case that due to unspecified “stressors” Riad had recently been suicidal and that the physical evidence supports the possibility that his death was self-inflicted.

He will be missed and should be remembered as he represented the very best in independent grass-roots activism.

From the media:

Teachers, Students Grieve over Loss of Teacher

EXCERPT: More than a thousand students and the teachers at a southwest Austin middle school where Riad Hamad, 55, taught a technology class are in silent reflection now. ... "Mr. Hamad is a loved teacher on this campus. He's been here since 1999 when we opened and in his capacity as a technology teacher, he works with about 90% of our students," Anderson says. ... "Our children gained and developed a sense of humor. Some of the things the kids talked about, it was just remarkable that they could mirror the sense of humor that this man had." "They love him. He has been remarkable in setting high standards and sharing. He has been a very generous, generous man."