Data Info

Post 1967 Palestinian Israeli deaths from occupation violence

As of late APRIL 2006, how many Israelis and Palestinians, respectively, have died from Palestinian non-state violence and Israeli state violence?

SHORT ANSWER: 1,133 Israelis and an estimated 5,144 Palestinians (including 952 children) have been killed since September 2000. From UN data, the post-1967 avoidable mortality (excess mortality) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories totals 300,000 and the post-1967 under-5 infant mortality 183,000 (of which 90% has been avoidable) - as compared to 2,178 post-1967 Israeli terrorism deaths (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs figures).

CAREFULLY DOCUMENTED ANALYSIS:

1. Terrorism deaths in Israel1920-1999 total 2,580 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2006; see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/1/Terrorism+deaths+in+Israel+-+1920-1999.htm ).

Quote: “From 1920 through 1999, a total of 2,580 residents of Mandatory Palestine and, since 1948, the State of Israel fell victims to hostile enemy action; in most cases, terrorist attacks. The last terrorism-related death in 1999 was recorded on August 30, 1999. The first death in 2000 was recorded on September 27, 2000, with the outbreak of the current wave of Palestinian violence and terror” (“Terrorism deaths in Israel: 1920-1999”, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2006; see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/1/Terrorism+deaths+in+Israel+-+1920-1999.htm ).

2. Terrorism deaths in Israel 1967-1999 total 1,065 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2006; see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/1/Terrorism+deaths+in+Israel+-+1920-1999.htm ).

3. Terrorism deaths in Israel since 2000 total 1,113

Quote: “ 1,113 people have been killed by Palestinian violence and terrorism since September 2000” (specifically 27 September 2000 – 17 April 2006; “Victims of Palestinian violence and terrorism since September 2000”, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 2006; see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm ).

4. From the above information, all derived from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we can calculate that as of April 2006 there have been 4,758 terrorism deaths in Israel since 1920 and 2,178 since the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (the Occupied Palestinian Territories) and the Golan Heights (Syria) in 1967.

5. Palestinians killed from September 2000-February 2005 total 4,009

Quote: “Since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising (Intifada) in September 2000, through February 2005, 4,009 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces” (“4,009 Palestinians killed and more than 44,500 wounded by Israelis from September 2000 to February 2005, PNIC [Palestinian National Information Centre] Report”, Al-Jazeerah, March 2005; see: http://www.aljazeerah.info/Human%20price%20of%20the%20occupation/human_price_of_the_israeli_occup.htm )

6. Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces from September 2000 total 5,144

From the above information, we can that estimate that, as of April 2006, a further 1,135 Palestinians have been killed and 12,594 wounded since February 2005 and that a total of 5,144 Palestinians have been killed (including an estimated 952 children) and 57,100 have been wounded since September 2000

7. Post-1967 avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Palestinian Territories total 0.3 and 0.2 million, respectively

Avoidable mortality (technically, excess mortality) is the difference between the actual deaths in a country and the deaths expected for a peaceful, decently-run country with the same demographics (see: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/ ). Post-1967 avoidable mortality (excess mortality) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories totals 300,000 and the post-1967 under-5 infant mortality 183,000 (of which about 90% was avoidable) (estimated from UN Population Division data; see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ ). The “annual under-5 infant mortality” (expressed as a percentage of the under-5 infant population) is 0.51% (Occupied Palestinian Territories) as compared to 0.12% (Israel) (2003 figures; see: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ and the latest UNICEF reports: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html ).

Professor Peter Singer, formerly at Monash University Melbourne, and now Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University in the US, has been widely acclaimed as the most influential living philosopher (see: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/323/7318/940 ) and has generated enormous controversy over his advocacy of “active”, painless, non-voluntary euthanasia for severely disabled infants. However his comments over “passive euthanasia” are relevant to “passive genocide” by Occupiers such as the Israelis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the US-led Coalition in Occupied Iraq and Afghanistan: “Doctors who deliberately leave a baby to die when they have the awareness, the ability, and the opportunity to save the baby’s life, are just as morally responsible for the death as they would be if they had brought it about by a deliberate positive action” (H. Kuhse & P. Singer, Should the Baby Live? The Problem of Handicapped Infants, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985, pp84-85).

Professor Peter Singer has further stated the following moral generality “We are responsible not only for what we do but also for what we could have prevented … We could consider the consequences of what we do and what we decide not to do” (P. Singer, Writings on an Ethical Life, Ecco Press, New York, 2000, ppxv-xvi; see: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s1445960.htm ).

The 1949 Geneva Conventions relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (see: (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm )

are explicit in demanding that the Occupier does everything “to the fullest extent of the means available to it” to preserve the health and life of its conquered subjects:

“Article 55. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate …

Article 56. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining , with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, the medical and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene in the occupied territory, with particular reference to the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories shall be allowed to carry out their duties …”

Whether a child dies violently (from bombs or bullets) or dies non-violently (from deprivation or malnourishmnet-exacerbated disease), the end result is the same and the culpability the same. The Ruler is responsible for the Ruled, the Occupier is responsible for the Occupied subjects.

Israel - a prosperous, liberal democracy with a population extremely well aware from the Jewish Holocaust of the horrendous consequences of racism and human rights abuse - has FAILED to meet its obligations under the 1949 Geneva Conventions (see: (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm ) and has also FAILED near-comprehensively in relation to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (see: http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf ), most notably and fundamentally with respect to Article #6: “1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. 2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.”

This awful situation does NOT have to continue. All sensible, humane Jews and Arabs want peace. Thus IMMEDIATE implementation of an Interim Peace Plan can effect Peace with Justice NOW . Such an Interim Peace Plan for IMMEDIATE implementation could involve the following: 2 states; 1967 borders; joint provision of airport-style total security throughout the Holy Land; interim defence provision by Israel alone (Israel would probably accept nothing less); bigotry, racism and incitement made illegal; reconciliation; all human rights guaranteed for all; and secure access for ALL to ALL of the Holy Land.

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Police Violence The New Normal in America

Recent actions by police at Occupy encampments and student protests shows what happens when state violence goes unpunished. The new normal in America is that the police feel justified to inflict pain on nonviolent protesters, and the roots of this change have to be connected to the redefinition of torture as enhanced interrogation. Moreover, the Obama administrations decision not to hold any members of the Bushs torture regime responsible has set the stage for the use of police violence without fear of retaliation.

While we are not used to thinking of the U.S. as a police state, every day sees a new move in that direction. It is now commonplace for police to show up at peaceful protests dressed in full riot gear ready to baton, pepper spray, and intimidate citizens employing their constitutional rights of free speech and free assembly. Of course, the ruling class, including President Obama, has been silent on this issue.

Just as torture has been renamed enhanced interrogation, so has nonviolent resistance been redefined as violence. These actions can only result in a de-legitimization of politics as we descend into a police state. However, the protesters know that the only way to get their message to the masses is to allow for the police to inflict pain because in our media, if it bleeds, it leads. The end result is, as Chris Hedges has argued, all of our "liberal" institutions (the media, the Democratic party, the universities) lose their legitimacy.

A new generation of Americans has now grown up in this police-media-political context, and even though young people are used to communicating on the disembodied Web, they are putting their bodies on the line to make our country wake up. The failure of the political class to respond in any rational way only pours fuel on the fire, and while it may be too soon to talk about a second American revolution, the current dynamic is generating major social unrest. We camp, they beat us, and we return.

All out to Davis!

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Occupy California Refund Higher Education and the Question of Violence Plus Schedule of Events

On November 15th, faculty and students at UC Berkeley will hold a one-day strike and will attempt to re-establish an Occupy Cal encampment. This action is supported by thousands of students and faculty members throughout the UC system and around the world. One of the reasons for this demonstration is to protest the excessive use of police force that has been used against students and faculty members. People will also be protesting the last-minute cancellation of the UC Regents meeting.

While students, employees, and faculty members have asked educational leaders to sign a pledge to join us in our call to re-fund higher education in California by making the banks and wealthiest 1% pay, the regents have responded by hiding from the public. So the new plan is to track down the higher ed leaders on November 16th when Southern California protesters will converge at the CSU trustees meeting in Long Beach, and Northern California protesters will rally and march in the San Francisco financial district, starting at noon at Justin Herman Plaza. We will once again demand that the UC Regents and CSU trustees sign our pledge, and we will invite them to then join us as we continue the march to the state building in San Francisco. Once there, we will demand that government officials also support our pledge, and we will have a people’s regents meeting.

Setting the Stage
When the UC announced that it had canceled the Regents meeting, it stated that, “they had received information indicating that rogue elements intent on violence and confrontation with UC public safety officers were planning to attach themselves to peaceful demonstrations expected to occur at the meeting.” While the UC did not reveal the sources for these threats, it is important to ask, how does the university define violence?

According to a UC police officer, the university is using the following definition of violence, “"the individuals who linked arms and actively resisted, that in itself is an act of violence...I understand that many students may not think that, but linking arms in a human chain when ordered to step aside is not a nonviolent protest." Someone needs to call Gandhi and Martin Luther King to tell them that the whole history of non-violent resistance has been rewritten.

It is of course outrageous for any public university to declare that students and workers can be beaten with batons if they engage in the dangerous act of linking arms, and it is especially absurd for this claim to be made at UC Berkeley, which stands for the birth of the Free Speech movement. If people are no longer able to protest nonviolently, then they may be forced to use other means. (I am not endorsing here the use of violence; rather, I am arguing that the police have to allow for nonviolent resistance)

By shutting down the Regents meeting, the university has also sent the message that the university is not only being privatized on a financial basis, but it is also being privatized on a bureaucratic basis. The regents are now telling the people of California that public matters have to be discussed in private, and the public is no longer invited to witness the dismantling of the “world’s greatest public university.”

Following the day of activities on the 16th, attention will turn to the one-day strikes at CSU East Bay and CSU Dominguez Hills. Ultimately, what is at stake is the future of public higher education in California and around the world. As the refund higher education movement couples with the Occupy Wall Street movement, a new level of organization and energy will emerge.


SCHEDULE FOR NOV 16 STATE-WIDE DAY OF ACTION TO REFUND PUBLIC EDUCTION

10 – 10:30am: free busses leave from Telegraph and Bancroft on Berkeley
11:30am – Noon: gather for a free lunch.
Noon rally at Justin Herman Plaza in collaboration with Occupy SF, 3
blocks from the Embarcadero BART station
1:00pm: March through the Financial District to make the banks pay for
the financial crisis they created
4:00pm: Peoples Assembly for Public Education at the State Building
to call on Gov Brown to make the banks pay public education, 455
Golden Gate Ave San Fransisco
3:00pm early bus returns to UC Berkeley
6:00pm remaining buses return to UC Berkeley

SCHEDULE FOR NOV15 OPEN UNIVERSITY & STRIKE AT UC BERKELEY
8am-5pm: All day Open University activities (teach-outs, workshops,
public readings, installations, etc.) at Sproul Plaza and surrounding
areas.
Noon: Mass convergence at Sproul Hall and formal inauguration of
day-long Open University.
Noon – 2pm: Teach-outs in Sproul Plaza.
2pm: Rally against police violence and other, related forms of
violence, including dispossession, privatization, and debt.
2:30pm: March to Berkeley High and Berkeley City College.
5pm: General Assembly at Sproul Plaza.

Available link for download