Lebanese American Bloggers

News Update: Lebanese Government Rejects US France Plan

2006-08-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Tayyar.org News Update:

The Lebanese Government has just rejected a plan put by the US and France for a ceasefire. The Lebanese Governement is currently working on drafting an amendment to the plan.

Lebanese Protest in Riyad Solah Square in Beirut

2006-08-05T03:19:00.000-07:00

Aljazeera.net News Update:

Lebanese are currently protesting against the visit of David Welch in Beirut.

David Welch is in Lebanon meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saniora

2006-08-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

Tayyar.org News Update:

David Welch just entered the back door of the Saraya to meet Prime Minister Saniora to discuss the current Lebanon Israel Crises

Fundriasing Event to help Lebanon and Gaza

2006-08-05T02:49:00.000-07:00

You are invited to attend the "Reverse the Crisis" fundraiser being held at the Red Lion Bellevue Inn, on August 13, 2006 from 6pm till 9pm, to raise relief funds for victims of violence in Lebanon and Palestine. A group of recent evacuees from the affected region will be at the event and will recount the conditions there. Members of the press will also be present to cover this event.

The charities which will be present to receive pledges from attendees at this event will be Islamic Relief Worldwide ( www.irw.org) and Mercy Corps International (www.mercycorps.org ). We will be accepting phone-pledges to either of these charities from 6pm till 9pm on the day of the event. The three numbers to call to do so are: 206.306.5243, 206.661.8887, and 206.714.8269. These numbers will only be activated during the event.

This fundraiser is being co-sponsored by The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and The Arab American Community Coalition (AACC). Our aim with this event is to alleviate the suffering of people in Lebanon and Palestine in the recent wave of violence, and to inform the attendees of the current conditions and ways in which charity organizations are doing so.

Tickets for this event are a $25 donation, for adults, and a $10 donation, for children 4-10. Tickets bought at the door are $5 extra. Child care will be provided in a seperate room.

You may reach us via e-mail or by phone at 206.367.4081. Please forward this invitation to members of your lists, whom you feel may be interested in participating. With your participation, we can increase the impact of our efforts. Let's demonstrate that Seattle cares!

Israel Expands Offensive into Tyre in Lebanon

2006-08-05T02:02:00.000-07:00

Israel has just expanded its offensive into Tyre the southern city in Labanon. Five Lebanese die in this attack including a Lebanese Army person. Israel also mentioned that one Israeli died in the fighting in Tyre.

For more information please visit www.tayyar.org

Update on Relief and Donation Aid Lebanon & Israel

2006-08-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

This is a good list compiled by CNN of the top relief organization and Aid groups that are operating in the United States.

The following are links to aid group Web sites who are assisting civilians in the Mideast crisis:
AGA Khan Development Network•
American Jewish Committee•
American Red Cross•
AmeriCares•
CARE•
Catholic Relief Services•
Council on American-Islamic Relations•
Direct Relief International•
Doctors Without Borders•
Habitat For Humanity•
ICRC -- International Committee of the Red Cross•
International Medical Corps•
Islamic Relief•
Jewish National Fund•
MercyCorps•
Oxfam•
Refugees International•
Save the Children•
UJA Federation of New York•
UNDP -- United Nations Development Program•
UNFPA -- United Nations Population Fund•
UNHCR -- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees•
UNICEF•
World Food Program•
World Vision

Stop the War...and create Peace in Lebanon & Israel

2006-08-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

Another email from a friend...

A close friend of mine from Montreal wrote this to me and a bunch of our friends…I think it is fitting to forward on for you and whomever you would like to share it with to read…I think it deserves the time and eyes of the people who are all moved by what’s going on these days:

...on my way back home

Dear friends,

I hope all of you are ok, and that your families are safe as well. I don’t know what compelled me to write this, but i wanted to share it with you, as a thought, and perhaps a start to a future our country can have. Now that i look back at it, its long, but read it through, there's a lot of good thought in here:

On my way back home from work, i realized that the only place that really ever felt like home is now being destroyed. I'm looking around Montréal, and I continually question whether its home, or my adopted country. I realize that this where I’ve lived for the past 7 years, because the country i was born into continuously keeps getting bombarded out of existence.

and i realized this has been my life- constantly jumping around, from country to country... I have been fortunate to have lived in a sheltered world, in numerous cities around the world. I was fortunate to have grown up knowing peace, feeling secure, building dreams and running after them, yet I have never really grown up feeling attached to any city. For me its just a phase, the next stepping stone in this life of displacement.

I can say the same is true for almost all of us. We are the generation of the civil war. Our parents, wanting to provide us with the best, took us out of Lebanon and gave us security. we grew up always dreaming of Lebanon, but too scared to return because of the instability.

The past three weeks have not been easy for anyone, and I can't even begin to imagine anyone living in Lebanon how they are coping. Whenever I switch on the news or watch TV, my heart shatters, because the one country where I recall spending the best moments of my life, is being ripped out of the earth.

And over the past three weeks, I’ve realized a lot of things:

1. NO ONE has defended Lebanon other than the Lebanese. Countries have all sold their souls for money, greed, power, and unfortunately, no one seems to be able to do anything about it. This is the irony of our 'democratic' world. We are the only ones who are going to defend Lebanon, who are going to make it prosper, who are going to rebuild it, because I refuse to let my country die.

2. I was just reading an article on BBC, saying how all Israelis have faith that Israel will come out of this 'unharmed' economically speaking. Lebanon on the other hand, will suffer drastic economic devastation.

I just want to point out a fault in the Arab culture. Arabs do not work well together. How many times have we heard that? I've heard it a thousand times, and now I’ve witnessed the outcome of it with my own eyes. I'm writing this email out to try and change this mentality, at least for our generation.

Look at Israel how it built itself. Why? How? Because they stuck together. Are they any smarter than us? Definitely not.
We are all extremely educated, we've traveled the world, and we're cultured, social, and well integrated wherever you stick us.
Are they better? At wars, maybe. but wars get you nowhere.

They do not have any quality that is exceptional other than their ability to work together, and they build and strengthen themselves with each others help. That and faith.

This is what I want to start spreading, and I can only do this with your help by sending this email to your friends, your colleagues, anyone is capable of helping make a change:

We are the generation that is going to shape the fate of Lebanon.
If we leave it, our country will die. We are all doctors, lawyers, web designers, engineers, business men, developers and architects and designers, we are the Lebanese of this nation that needs us, yet where are we? we are scattered all over the world, sheltered in our new homes away from the violence. We speak of being upset, yet what are we doing to support and rebuild and maintain a flourishing and strong and prospering country? We are all young, I know, but we need to understand something, the country's destiny is in our hands.

We have to stand united, once and for all for our nation and our region. We want peace, we want prosperity, and we want our homeland.
Fighting will not resolve anything. We cannot become a strong and united country based on the 4 million Lebanese in Lebanon. We are over 16mil. Lebanese abroad- and now it’s our turn to do something about it. We need to make our voices heard. Enough is enough!

If a friend asks for help, help him. If someone has the opportunity to get to a high position, help them. Good only breeds good. Evil breeds evil. This is the lesson learned from this devastation.

Start funds, promote, redesign, and get involved with getting Lebanon off of its feet. If you want to be a politician, be one- but help your people, not your pockets. Help educate and open people's minds to what a good future can look like. Let’s build a united country instead of an ideology of religious sects that fight in the name of god. He is the same god, so what are you fighting for?

You may think this is a dream of a hopeful future... and it is. But let me point out that my entire life has been based on dreams, and I have not failed at getting any dream I’ve ever wanted because I’ve fought my ass off for it. Now let’s all do the same and work our asses off to get our Lebanon off of the ground and help it stand in dignity and in full strength to face a better future. Let us learn from our mistakes and progress to a better situation. Lebanon will stand strong and proud again, this I will not doubt, and it is our unity that can get it there... let us try and see where it takes us 5 years from now.

Aim for the next 5 years to really stand united. Let us all build something together, because lord knows we've got the brains, the capability, and the collective money to do something about it. Do not say there's nothing you can do, because as of today, this is the start of an opportunity for all of us to do something... Nothing comes easy, and everything is work. If you have any ideas or suggestions, let us talk about them and start to plan for a strong future.

No one has ever gotten anywhere alone,
Never forget this,

hala

Justice For Lebanon Peaceful Demonstration Speech

2006-08-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Justice for Lebanon
www.justiceforlebanon.org
Peaceful Demonstration & Candlelight Vigil
Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Wednesday, August 2, 2006 at 6:00pm
speech by Loai Naamani
President, Lebanese Club at MIT

37 roses to the little angels of Qana,
37 kisses on the forehead of Lebanon,
For a decade an open wound you stood,
And now they return to rape open another.

They think a nation that bled of its children,
Can – in the name of God – still bleed some more.
For if Jesus could turn into wine your water,
Why can’t they turn your riddance into peace?

The Cedars of Lebanon, the Rocks of Raouche,
The Pillars of Baalbeck, and Mount Lebanon almighty,
Bear witness to your harvest, but share not in its shame.
Alone we now lull amid cribs full of sand and stone.

Children of Lebanon’s longing for itself,
United we march in your funeral today.
We weep as we see the dust in your eyes,
And loudly we mourn what in silence we killed.

If Lebanon can speak, it will tell of this day,
How united you died, how united we cry.
Your Lebanon is mine; our Lebanon is one.
Lebanon for all? Yes, but a nation for life…

We’ve been coming to Copley Square for over two weeks now in support of the Justice for Lebanon campaign (www.justiceforlebanon.org)
After every rally and vigil we organize, I leave this square while wishing from all my heart that it’s the last time this savage war brings us together here again; that it’s the last time we have to light yet another shy candle for every fire of war eating away at more and more of Lebanon; that it’s the last time we choke on our sighs as we witness more and more of the dusty smiles of our children and the tearful wrinkles of our elderly; that it’s the last time I have to give a speech in which I can only pretend that I can describe a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of how terrible we all feel.

Ladies and Gentlemen,I am not here today to denounce nor condemn nor demand nor implore.
That we’ve done enough of, and – if it’s any consolation – the rest of the world has also done a little of, save, of course, the noble administration of this country.
What world is this anyway… [referring to statements made during week of August 2]
Where UN observers get killed and the UN can only observe further silently?
Where Israeli ambassadors to Arab states are yet to be rebuked, not to mention expelled?
Where an Israeli Prime Minister apologizes for Qana and then continues to say he needs at least 15 more days – 15 more Qanas – to finish his mission?
Where a Secretary of State says she is trying to achieve a ceasefire, while the children of Lebanon only wish they can tell her they are also trying to stay alive, trying to stay away from Israel’s bombs?
Where we are force-fed the noble notions of a “sustainable peace”, an “enduring peace”, while we cannot even sustain life, endure life long enough to glimpse the horizon of peace?

And what peace is this anyway that they speak to us of?
Peace that is raped from us by might?
Might that is nothing but fear coated with armor?
Armor that can only shine as our sunshines fade?
This is not the peace we want.
Our peace begins with justice. This campaign was not called Peace for Lebanon, but Justice for Lebanon… the justice of reclaimed land, of reclaimed citizens, of reclaimed sovereignty, of reclaimed pride, and not only this.
Our peace also begins with the justice of accountability for an unjust war, for unwarranted savagery.

Anyway, I am only here today to remind you of a plea that we, the free people of this world, made from this very square a few days ago. A plea we failed to heed, but the heavens above heeded instead and handed the little angels of Qana enough wings to escape their scorched land.

It was only Friday when we spoke of a world pretending to be deaf when it really did not want to hear, pretending to be blind when it really did not want to see. And now, I must add, a world pretending to be alive when it allowed itself to allow – with deathlike ignorance – the lives of 37 tiny little children to be bombed out of their tiny little bodies.

This is the world we foretold on Friday that: You are the only sun to which the people of Lebanon can turn their faces, hoping all shadows will fall behind. A world we implored not to let the children of Lebanon down. A world that has, instead, so let them down, deep, very deep down, that the earth of Lebanon in which they lie would not hesitate to rip itself open and push them out, if anything could bring back the light to their tiny little eyes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let it be known by all that, in our silence, we have become the revolving doors to the slaughterhouse of Qana.
You can now join me in adding yet another minute of silence in their memory to an infinitude of silence that turned their kindergarten into the kindergraveyard of Lebanon...

- Loai Naamani

The Impotence of the United Nations

2006-08-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

I just got this email from one of my friends, talking about the situation in Lebanon & Israel...

The situation is not so bad, it is worse than bad; it's deficient, inferior, lousy, off, poor, rotten, unacceptable, wretched, wrong, and ungodly. I totally gave up on the international community, as it showed me it can do nothing, facing the Israelis, and the American government, who use its veto to any UN resolution that tries to condemn Israel. I lost hope in good people. I lost hope for peace. It is amazing when I speak with some rightists who love, respect, and want to protect Israel, even when the latter is killing innocent civilians. From the beginning of the creation of the Jewish state, it built its homes and cities on the blood of others--blood of innocent Arabs that wanted to be free; free from occupation, from imperialism, and from hostility. The world now is trying to "teach" the Arabs (and the rest of the world of course) how to establish democracy. Yet, they force their democracy on them. I am afraid that from what I am seeing that the Israeli War Machine is not stopping until it fills up its thirst for blood by killing thousands of Lebanese. Sometimes I pray, sometimes I don't. I feel that my faith is weakening. Has God forsook us? I am not sure, but if He did, why? I feel the need to learn is more crucial than any other time in my life. I feel that I need to help. My own little struggle should be with knowledge, which I hope it may help my people, and every repressed community in the world. And, in the end, I pray for strength in my belief. I pray for justice. I pray for hope.

Ahmad

Hezbollah Targets Tel Aviv

2006-08-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

Naharnet.com News Update:

Three Hizbullah rockets hit the Israeli town of Hadera 40 km north of Tel Aviv, causing no casualties, Israel's private Channel 10 TV says.

Please view previous post on my views of Hezbollah Targeting Tel Aviv

Peace

Amnesty International Demands Ceasefire and Calls for Support

2006-08-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Amnesty International Demands Ceasefire and Calls for Support

To join Amnesty International’s call on the United States and other world governments to work towards an immediate, full and effective ceasefire to protect civilians on both sides of the conflict in Lebanon and Israel, Please visit Take Action Amnesty USA for more information.

Arab American Children Speaking of Peace

2006-08-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

ADC Michigan Update:

Arab-American Children Speak Out for Peace

Members of the ADC Kids Club, who recently returned home from Lebanon, and a few who have observed the war from the U.S., met this week with U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Congressman John Dingell, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick and Congressman John Conyers to share their perspectives on the war. The ages of the children ranged from seven to seventeen. During the meetings, some of the children discussed their experience, while stranded in Lebanon amidst the bombs and bloodshed. Their experience is a living testimony of the agony that many endured as they fled the war. Tonia, 17, spoke of the horror in evacuating with her family under the continuous shelling.

Mustapha, 12, commented, “How can we have peace, if the U.S. is sending weapons to kill people?” Others wondered why President Bush has not stopped the war to save the children of Lebanon and Gaza.

The children shared their dreams of peace and the hope that the lives of their loved ones, who remain in Lebanon, will be spared. The children who were not in Lebanon said that they feared for the lives of many of their family members. “When I talk to my cousins and ask them if they need anything, they tell me that they don’t want money. They just want the war to end, but I can’t help them and that makes me sad,” said Nadeen, 10. “When I was in Lebanon three years ago it used to be beautiful and sunny. Now I watch the news and I’m scared for my family,” said, Yasmeen, 7.

“The comments made were evident of the devastation that these children have suffered and the overwhelming and lasting impact such devastation will sadly have on their lives,” witnessed ADC Programs and Outreach Director Nadia Fadel. “One question that the children still look for an answer to,” Nadia explained, “is why can’t we just have peace?”

Latest Peace Protest Update: Washington DC, US

2006-08-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

ADC Update:

Silent Candlelight Vigil: Sunday, August 6

Washington, DC August 4, 2006 The Lebanese American Community of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, in conjuction with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and other leading organizations and human rights activists will be holding a silent candelight vigil on Sunday, August 6 from 8-10pm EST.

WHAT:Silent VigilTo Protest the Israeli Invasion and Ongoing Destruction of Lebanon andTo Remember the Victims of the Qana Massacre

WHERE:We will meet in Farragut Square Park at K Street and Connecticut Ave, NW – across the street from Farragut North Metro Station. Then at sunset, we will walk as a group to the White House with lighted candles where the vigil will end at 10 pm.

WHEN:Sunday, August 6, 20068:00– 10:00 pm EST

WHY:To demand an immediate cease fire in Lebanon-To mourn and express outrage at the loss of innocent civilian lives in Lebanon-To condemn the internal displacement of one third of the population of Lebanon-To deplore the systematic destruction of the countryWHO:The Lebanese American Community of Washington, DC in conjunction withADC, other Arab American Associations, and Human Rights Activists

SPECIAL NOTE: Wear black or white and bring candles with you (bring drip guards or votives on a plate or tray to catch the wax).
Please forward this message widely.

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee www.adc.org1732 Wisconsin Ave., NW Washington, DC 20007Tel: 202-244-2990 Fax: 202-244-7968 E-mail: media@adc.org

US Media and their lies...

2006-08-04T02:29:00.000-07:00

It is really crazy watching the US news reporting the War in Israel and Lebanon. I can't believe it when FOX News keeps on saying that Israel is bombing Hezbollah Infrastructure or sites...

Especially the most recent bombings of Bridges that join Northern Lebanon and Beirut. The Northern part of Lebanon is mainly Sunni Muslims and it is joined by Jounieh a Christian Community. Both have no Hezbollah support what so ever...Israel is targeting Lebanon not Hezbollah

Please get your facts right...

Hezbollah Don't Bomb, Target or Attack Tel Aviv

2006-08-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Sayyid Hassan Nasralla,

Please don't bomb or hit Tel Aviv. Israeli citizens will end up paying the price just like the Lebanese citizens are paying the price in Beirut...There is no justification for targeting or hiting areas where there are civilians... no matter what the military or strategic cause or goal is.

Why would you want to fight Israeli Terror with your own version of Terror?

Look at what your missiles did in Nazareth...they killed two young boys...how many inicent lives have to pay the price of war?

http://www.wral.com/apworldnews/9543168/detail.html

I understand that you are trying to defend Lebanon, but you can'd defend it by targeting Tel Aviv...

Israel & Hezbollah Please stop the fighting and start building bridges for PEACE...

Jewish Voice For Peace...

2006-08-04T00:37:00.000-07:00

This is great... I love Jewish Voice For Peace....They are doing a great trying to build bridges for peace...

http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

Breaking News: 4 Died, 15 Injured in Israel Attack on Northern Lebanon

2006-08-04T00:35:00.000-07:00

Breaking News: 4 Died, 15 Injured in Israel Attack on Northern Lebanon
for more information please visit www.tayyar.org

Breaking News: Israel attacks Humanitarian Aid Agencies in South Lebanon

2006-08-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

Israel just attacked 3 aid agencies in the South of Lebanon. For more information please visit www.tayyar.org

Israel Bombs Jounieh near Casino Du Liban (Latest Picture)

2006-08-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

Updated Picture of Bomb that Hit in Jounieh, for more information visit http://www.libnanews.com/2006/08/urgent_un_deuxi.html

News Update: Beirut Bombed, Kisirwan and Maamaltein

2006-08-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

News Update: Beirut Bombed, Kisirwan and Maamaltein

Beirut Hit...Bridge of Cola, Between Tariq Al Jdeede and Al Madina Al Riyadiyah

(Source Al-Arabiya)

Entire Family Dies after Israel bombed a Hospital

2006-08-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

by Robert Fisk
Published in "The Independent" - 03 August 2006

An attack on a hospital, the killing of an entire Lebanese family, the seizure of five men in Baalbek and a new civilian death toll - 468 men, women and children - marked the 22nd day of Israel's latest war on Lebanon.The Israelis claimed that helicopter-borne soldiers had seized senior Hizbollah leaders although one of them turned out to be a local Baalbek grocer. In a village near the city, Israeli air strikes killed the local mayor's son and brother and five children in their family.The battle for Lebanon was fast moving out of control last night. Lebanese troops abandoned many of their checkpoints and European diplomats were warning their colleagues that militiamen were taking over the positions. Up to 8,000 Israeli troops were reported to have crossed the border by last night in what was publicised as a military advance towards the Litani river. But far more soldiers would be needed to secure so large an area of southern Lebanon.The Israelis sent paratroopers to attack an Iranian-financed hospital in Baalbek in the hope of capturing wounded Hizbollah fighters but, after an hour's battle, got their hands on only five men whom the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, later called "tasty fish". The operation suggests what Hizbollah has all along said was the purpose of the Israeli campaign: to swap prisoners and to exchange Hizbollah fighters for the two Israeli soldiers who were captured on the border on 12 July.Hizbollah continued to fire dozens of missiles over the border into Israel, killing one Israeli and wounding 21, with Israeli artillery firing shells back into Lebanon at the rate of one every two minutes. For the first time, a Hizbollah rocket struck the West Bank as well as the Israeli town of Beit Shean, the longest-range missile to have been fired so far. Yet still the West seems unable to produce an end to a war which is clearly overwhelming both Hizbollah and the Israelis.Hizbollah obviously has far more missiles than the Israelis believed - there is not a town in northern Israel which is safe from their fire - and the Israeli army apparently has no plan to defeat Hizbollah other than the old and hopeless policy of occupying southern Lebanon. If Hizbollah had planned this campaign months in advance - and if the Israelis did the same - then neither side left room for diplomacy.The French have wisely said they will lead a peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon only after a ceasefire. And to be sure, they will not let this become a Nato-led army. France already has a company of 100 soldiers in the UN force in southern Lebanon, whose commander is himself French, but Paris, after watching the chaos in Iraq, has no illusions about Western armies in the Middle East.Outside the shattered Dar al-Hikma hospital in Baalbek yesterday stood two burnt cars and a minivan, riddled with bullet-holes. Hizbollah, it seems, fought the Israelis there for more than an hour. The hospital, which includes several British-manufactured heart machines, was empty when the Israeli raid began and was partly destroyed in the fighting.The Lebanese army, which has tried to stay out of the conflict - heaven knows what its 75,000 soldiers are supposed to do - was attacked again by the Israelis yesterday when they fired a missile into a car which they claimed was carrying a Hizbollah leader. They were wrong. The soldier inside died instantly, joining the 11 other Lebanese troops proclaimed as "martyrs" by the government from a logistics unit killed in an Israeli air raid two weeks ago.The obscene score-card for death in this latest war now stands as follows: 508 Lebanese civilians, 46 Hizbollah guerrillas, 26 Lebanese soldiers, 36 Israeli soldiers and 19 Israeli civilians.In other words, Hizbollah is killing more Israeli soldiers than civilians and the Israelis are killing far more Lebanese civilians than they are guerrillas. The Lebanese Red Cross has found 40 more civilian dead in the south of the country in the past two days, many of them with wounds suggesting they might have survived had medical help been available.

Hizbollah Blames President Bush

2006-08-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Hizbollah; Sheikh Hassan Nassrallah puts all the blame on what is happening in Lebanon on President Bush and Rice and says that Israel is only a tool that is being used by the American Government. He also said that if Israel hits Beirut then Hizbollah will hit Tel Aviv....

Hizbollah also rejects the US aid and training to the Lebanese Army.

Why is Hizbollah targeting civilians or plans to do so in Israel? I don't think that this is the right thing to do. Even though Israel is hiting Lebanon and killing civilians it still doesn't justify Hizbollah or any other group to kill Insraeli civilians. It is sad to see leaders who are not able to show mercy...

Israel Continues to Isolate Lebanese Cities

2006-08-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

Israel just bombed trasportation bridges in Jounieh, Al Batroon & South. How can people go anywhere! Families now can only stay in their houses and wait...

Tayyar.org mentioned that the bridge that connects Tripoli and the North with Lebanon is completly destroyed. This Isolates the North... This is complete not acceptable there are 4 million lebanese who want to get out of Lebanon and now they are stuck in their houses waiting every time a bomb hits and hoping that their house doesn't get hit...they are hoping that they live to see another day...

Breaking News: Israel Targets Jounieh and Jibeal in Lebanon

2006-08-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

According to eye witnesses Israel just bombed Jounieh next to Crepaway and the Casino. They also hit Jibeal as well...

According to ANB News Israel just hit 4 Transportation Bridges in Al-Batroon, fidar Bridge got Hit as well as other bridges - 7 Injured so far

Israeli Airplanes are over Jounieh, people living in their houses are afraid that a bomb will hit them...stay tuned I will post more information as I get it

US Position on Hizbollah is now closer to France

2006-08-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

Rice hinted at a compromise on the cease-fire and took a position closer to most of the European Countries. I am a little pessimistic about this shift. I have heard more than once now that the US is trying to resolve this conflict and to build bridges. But I haven't seen any action yet. I hope her words turn into actions that would lead into a cease fire. Both Hizbollah and Israel must stop killing innocent civilians...

For more information on this article please visit MSNBC or Tayyar.org

Breaking News: Israel Just Bombed Jounieh

2006-08-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Israel just bombed Jounieh, I think the bridge next to crepaway...for more information please visit http://bloggingbeirut.com/archives/595-NEWSFLASH-they-just-BOMBED-Jounieh.html

Lebanese Prime Minister Saniora "Lebanon has 7 more days worth of fuel..."

2006-08-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Tayyar.org News Update:

The Lebanese people have 7 days of Fuel left and the reservers are almost gone...

A True Lebanese Leader...Dr. Ahmad Fatfat

2006-08-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

Dr. Ahmad Fatfat is really amazing...look at this interview that he had with ABC news channel.

It's good that our government is focusing on the Unity of Lebanon. We need to be united especially that Israel can only succeed if Lebanon Divides.

"TONY JONES: But it does seem clear that in this case, this war began with Hezbollah bombing with its missiles Israeli cities. Now, you are part of the Lebanese Government. Under the UN Security Council Resolution 1559 under which the Syrian army was withdrawn from Lebanon, your government was obliged to actually disarm Hezbollah, but now you are telling us you actually support what they are doing.

DR AHMAD FATFAT: No, no. It is different. It is so different. We have, as I said, an occupied territory. We have a plan of seven points that our Prime Minister presents to the meeting in Rome a few days ago. It is so clear. After a complete cease-fire, we exchange prisoners, we ask Israel to go to the blue line, the border line, we can - so we stop to attack Lebanon and they have to respect our sovereignty. So we accept to have international forces. By international, what we mean is UN forces to control the zone, to protect Lebanon from Israeli attack and to respect cease-fire and the Lebanese army can have the control of all of the Lebanese territory so we can have no more attack. This is a solution to go to the agreement of armistice of 49 because this is not a war beginning now. It's a war of at least - very soon it will be for 60 years. It's a new battle."

"TONY JONES: Dr Fatfat, do you agree Hezbollah, and their missiles, should have been disarmed in southern Lebanon or do you think they are in fact part of a resistance movement of which your government is part? It is quite confusing.

DR AHMAD FATFAT: No, no, no, not confusing. Until now - until we have occupied territory in Shebaa and we have prisoners, we have the obligation to have resistance. We cannot dismiss like that. We can not resign. What you are asking me is that you resign occupied territory with prisoners in relation to our space, of our water every day? It is not admissible. No one can admit this situation. If they respect the Lebanon territory, they respect Lebanon independencies and leave the Lebanese territory in Shebaa, they leave our prisoner, so no need to resist us or militia or anything. Now we can not except the nomination of militia to Hezbollah. It is a resistance and we need peace. We are working for a package deal and this package deal, this agreement, Hezbollah has partly accepted. So we present it to the international community in Rome and our friends in the Arab world and in Europe accept it. We have only now to convince the American diplomacy so we can have a lot of pressure on Israel to stop this war and have cease-fire. Then we are going to a real package deal to have real peace in our region."

If you are interested to get more information on this interview and views of another blogger please visit http://lebanonesque.blogspot.com/2006/08/here-comes-fatfat.html

To read the full interview please visit http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1703362.htm

US Government Approve Plan to Train Lebanese Army

2006-08-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Marco Di Lauro / Getty Images

(Courtesy MSNBC)

The US Government has just approved a plan to train and equip the Lebanese Army. The Lebanese Army is weak and can not control Lebanon. They are much weaker than Hezbollah Militias. I think it's great that the US is trying to help the Lebanese Government. I don't think that this is the right way to do it though. Providing weapons to the Lebanese Army will not create peace! It will divide Lebanon and develop a civil war. There is no way that any Lebanese would want to fight Hizbollah Militias except if the US divides Lebanon and creates strong tensions between Sunni, Shia and Christians. The Shia who are in the south now have such a high support for Hizbollah that they will fight against any army who plans to eliminate Hezbollah. I don't think that the solution is to eliminate Hizbollah, they are a political group in Lebanon and also represent their people in the South. Hizbollah's leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah just announced that Hizbollah will stop firing missiles into Israel when Israel stops bombing Lebanon. The best plan is to have an immediate ceasefire on both sides and then to negotiate. Hizbollah should also have a plan to disarm in the near future if Israel is willing to give up Sheba farms. Hizbollah militias should become part of the Lebanese Army. Look at Iraq and the results of how the Bush administration failed in training Iraq's Army. They created a civil war instead of training an army that would create peace. What is the death toll in Iraq? How many civilians’ lives have been lost and injured? Is this the Democracy that the US is preaching in the Middle East?

If the US Army trains the Lebanese Army Lebanon will become the new Iraq...We need PEACE not WAR...UNITY not DIVISION...

For more information on the article please visit MSNBC

European Union clasifies Hizbollah as a Lebanese Resistance

2006-08-02T02:01:00.000-07:00

The European Union rejected a call from the US to classify Hezbollah as a Terrorist Organization. They believe that Hizbollah is a legitimate Lebanese Resistance...

Read this previous post about the defenition of "Terrorisim"

Hizbollah Sends more missiles into Israel

2006-08-02T01:54:00.000-07:00

Hizbollah just announced that they have sent over 200 missilies this morning into Israel. Prime Minister of Israel said that Hizbollah is targeting civilians...

Hizbollah should stop sending Missiles into Israel. The only resistance that would be justified is when they are targeting Israeli Military Bases or the Israeli Army. The Israeli citizen or civilian should not be targeted...

Everytime Hizbollah targets Israeli civilians, Israel bombs Lebanese Civilians...this should end on both sides and is not acceptable...

A Democracy is fighting another Democracy!

2006-08-02T01:23:00.000-07:00

Great Blog Post by Michael Totten about the current Israeli Lebanese War...

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001220.html

Must See Video, Proof that Israel is Using Chemical Weapons against Lebanon

2006-08-02T01:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?eurl=&v=fBWRJ4JCacE

Please forward this to everyone u know....

Peace

Israel uses Weapons of Mass Destruction in Lebanon

2006-08-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

For more pictures please visit: http://flickr.com/groups/lebanon/pool/

The Lebanese Army declared that Israel has been using banned chemical weapons against the civilian population in Lebanon. They have also used cluster bombs that is maximized to civilian death. They have also used phosphorus according to UN reports.

People now in Lebanon are living their version of the Holocust. We the Lebanese are being "Cleansed" by Israeli War Planes.

This week a group of prominent world intellectuals, including Noam Chomsky, Eduardo Galeano, Harold Pinter, Howard Zinn, Arundhati Roy, Tariq Ali, et al, issued the following statement, reminding the world that the Israeli aggression against Lebanon is, as it always has been, not about security, but about the century-old Zionist determination to permanently erase Palestine as a political concept and Palestinians as a people.

July 19, 2006

The latest chapter of the conflict between Israel and Palestine began when Israeli forces abducted two civilians, a doctor and his brother, from Gaza. An incident scarcely reported anywhere, except in the Turkish press. The following day the Palestinians took an Israeli soldier prisoner - and proposed a negotiated exchange against prisoners taken by the Israelis - there are approximately 10,000 in Israeli jails.That this "kidnapping" was considered an outrage, whereas the illegal military occupation of the West Bank and the systematic appropriation of its natural resources - most particularly that of water - by the Israeli Defence (!) Forces is considered a regrettable but realistic fact of life, is typical of the double standards repeatedly employed by the West in face of what has befallen the Palestinians, on the land alloted to them by international agreements, during the last seventy years.Today outrage follows outrage; makeshift missiles cross sophisticated ones. The latter usually find their target situated where the disinherited and crowded poor live, waiting for what was once called Justice. Both categories of missile rip bodies apart horribly - who but field commanders can forget this for a moment?Each provocation and counter-provocation is contested and preached over. But the subsequent arguments, accusations and vows, all serve as a distraction in order to divert world attention from a long-term military, economic and geographic practice whose political aim is nothing less than the liquidation of the Palestinian nation.This has to be said loud and clear, for the practice, only half declared and often covert, is advancing fast these days, and, in our opinion, it must be unceasingly and eternally recognised for what it is and resisted.

signed:

Tariq AliJohn BergerNoam ChomskyEduardo GaleanoNaomi KleinHarold PinterArundhati RoyJose SaramagoGiuliana SgrenaHoward Zinn

www.youtube.com/watch?eurl=&v=fBWRJ4JCacE

Lebanese American View on Israel

2006-08-02T00:33:00.000-07:00

I believe that Israel should exist as a nation, I think there should be a two state solution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace.

Really the only problem that I have with Israel is not the nation, the people, the religion or the culture....its only the leaders who make decision that are not just. The Leaders that start wars and indirectly cause the deaths of Israeli Civilians and Soldiers. The leaders who bomb hospitals, infrastructure and kill children in Lebanon. The Leaders who stopped the Lebanese Airport from functioning and stopped me from going to Lebanon to enjoy my summer vacation...

I see the Israeli Leader's Decisions as bad as any other leader that does that...

Why is Israel Targeting the Lebanese Army?

2006-08-02T00:09:00.000-07:00

A plume of smoke billows in the Lebanese border village of Aita al-Shaab after is was hit by Israeli artillery during an operation August 1, 2006 on the Israeli side of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Israel has reportedly widened its ground offensive into southern Lebanon which could last for up to two weeks.
Photograph by : Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images

(Courtesy: Canada)

I don't understand why Israel is targeting the Lebanese Army... The Lebanese Army has the right to defend itself and fight against Israel's transgression.

I want the US Citizens and the West to understand Lebanon's point of view. We the Lebanese are closest to the west than any of the other Middle Eastern Countries. We have been westernized for sometime now... I remember the last time I was sitting in a coffee shop in front of AUB on Bliss Street. No one was talking in Arabic! Everyone looked as if they are from the US, UK, Australia or France...they even spoke American, Australian, French or a combination of American and French! Everyone that I talked with or knew from my town in the North of Lebanon had plans to migrate to the West for a better life, education...etc. The US has been a role model for success...we the Lebanese Admire the great corporations like Microsoft, Google, Amazon...etc. We the Lebanese are great at parties...since Lebanon is close to the beach and has lovely mountains it makes it a great tourist attraction. I remembered Lebanon when I visit Miami or San Diego or Seattle...

It hurts me to see the complete destruction that Israel is currently creating. They are uniting Lebanon but dividing the World.

I don't understand why they are targeting the Lebanese Army....I initially thought that Israel wanted the Lebanese Army to fight against Hezbollah. That did not work simply because Israel intentionally targeted civilians...those acts united Lebanon under one banner. Is the US truly supporting democracy in the Middle East? Personally and unfortunately I don't think so...Lebanon was the only successful democracy in that region. But the US doesn't really care about us...they only care about their allies...

Lebanon Israel Breaking News Update

2006-08-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Tayyar.org News Update:

Israel Army Kill 3 Lebanese Army Men in Baalback.

Israel kills 11 Lebanese Civilians from Baalback and kidnaps 9 from the Hospital in Lebanon. The Hospital has been completly destroyed by Israel. Hizbollah claim that the 9 that Israel Kidnapped are not from Hizbollah.

Syria Minister says that Israel plans to attack Syria

2006-08-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

Syria's Minister Al-Mouallem said according to Al-Jazeera that Israel is likely to attack Syria either thru economic santions or directly. This is why Syria's President is planning to increase security and get the troops in Syria ready for any reaction agains Syria.

Latest US Events and Peace Protests (Lebanon Israel War)

2006-08-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Wed August 2nd, 2006

USA, Boston - (5:00 p.m.) Peace Protest at Couply Square
http://www.justiceforlebanon.com/

USA, Detroit - (6:30 p.m.) Memorial Service for Qana at the Islamic Center of America (19500 Ford Rd.) in Dearborn. For more information, call 313-593-0000

USA, Atlanta - from 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM across the street from the Israeli consulate on1100 Spring Street, Atlanta, GA

Thursday August 3rd, 2006
USA, NY - (7:30PM) Silent candlelight vigil South side of Union Square Park, New York City
http://www.moghtarebeen.com/

Friday August 4th, 2006

USA, Philadelphia PA - (4:30pm) Peace Protest starting at Federal Building, 6th & Market Sts.

USA, Detriot - (4:30 p.m.) Peace Protest the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice will hold a demonstration, calling for the cessation ofParticipants will begin gathering at the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel entrance (corner of Randolph and E. Jefferson) in downtown Detroit at 4:30 PM, and will march to Grand Circus Park at 6:00 PM. For details, please visit: http://www.blogger.com/www.mecawi.org, or contact David Sole at 313-680-5508.

Saturday August 5th, 2006

USA, Los Angeles CA - (2pm) Peace Protest Westwood Federal Building.

USA, New Haven CT - (11:30AM) Peace Protest at U.S. Federal Courthouse on 167 Church St between Elm and Chapel St. opposite the lower New Haven Green

Sunday August 6, 2006

USA, Cambridge MA - Concert $20 - MIT Kresge 48 Mass Ave Cambridge http://www.justiceforlebanon.com/

USA, MA - (12:30PM) participating in a liturgy for peace at Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon Church in Jamaica Plain, MA.

Friday August 11th 2006

USA, OH -(7:30PM) Cleveland OH 11555 Lorain avenue by AACCESS Ohio and National Arab-Amer. Medical Assnt

Saturday August 12, 2006

USA, Washington DC - (12 noon) Event requesting a NATIONAL EMERGENCY MARCH ON WASHINGTON at the White House. This event is organized by the The Congress of Arab American Organizations (CAAO) in Michigan For more information please visit this Link: ADC Latest Events

(Sources: lebanonheartblogs, http://www.moghtarebeen.com/ & ADC)

Who is Israel Killing? Children!

2006-08-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

According to the Guardian, the Lebanese Children are the ones who are being killed the most. 45% of the killed in Lebanon are Children.

Why is the west silent? Why am I not hearing anyone on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC or any other medial outlet to have an immediate ceasefire to save the Children in Lebanon?

For more information on this article please visit Guardian.

Kids mourn their fathers death...

2006-08-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

PAUL ASSAKER, MCT
Mohamed, 3, left, and Hassan, 6, hold a portrait of their father, Ali Dilbani, with Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah. Dilbani was a Hezbollah fighter from the southern port city of Tyre who was killed last week in the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

(Courtesy: MercuryNews)

--------------------------------------------------

Look at those kids...their father just left them and will never return. He won't be with them to play with them or to watch them grow up. He won't be with them when the get married or have children...he is gone forever.

This is what happens when people fight...sometimes we forget that the Israeli Army or Hizbollah Militia are people who have families and lives....

Lebanon destroyed...before and after video

2006-08-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is a great video showing how lebanon was before the war and how its turning into rubble now...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cNP71_TAx6E&search=lebanon

Peace

Canadian Citizens in South Lebanon being killed and no one cares...

2006-08-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

Those are a group of Lebanese Canadian Citizens living in the South of Lebanon trying to get out of the South and being bombed, young children being killed....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YCRHb2fTaAs&search=lebanon

Please donate thru ReliefLebanon.org

Peace...

Must See Video on the War in Lebanon and Israel

2006-08-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Everyone in the US should see this video it's a complete eye opener to the tragedies that the Lebanese people are facing and they are not being shown on any media outlet...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8983450470760185878&q=lebanon

http://youtube.com/watch?search=lebanon&v=565mx1Elq-U

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YCRHb2fTaAs&search=lebanon

Please donate to the Lebanese Red Cross to help civilians in Lebanon. If you are a US Citizen or currently living in the US go to ReliefLebanon.org for access to relief organizations sending aid to Lebanon.

Israel Operation in NorthEast Lebanon Baalabak

2006-08-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Tayyar.org News Update:

Israel Sources say that Israeli forces in Baalaback are trying to kidnap a top Hizbollah official who is currently being treated in the Hospital. They are trying to capture and kidnap sheikh Yazback a member of the Advisory Board of Hizbollah.

Latest Caricature Pictures from Lebanon

2006-08-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

For more Pictures and Updates please visit LebaneseLobby.org and Picture Updates

Two sisters separated one in Lebanon and the other in Canada

2006-08-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Please visit this URL for more information...

http://peaceforlebanon.blogspot.com/2006/07/here-in-lebanon-cry-for-lebanon.html

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Here in Lebanon, A cry for Lebanon- Letters from two sisters who are separated, one in Lebanon, One in Canada.

Letters describing the situation in Leb

Letter One: Here in Lebanon by Nathalie Malhame, in Beirut, Lebanon.Here in Lebanon, the atmosphere is grim and sad. The airport has been bombed several times, there is an air and sea blocade, the Syrian border has been bombed, we cannot leave the country easily- if at all. Bridges, oil stations, the airport, entire villages (Haret Hreik, Chtaura, Saida, Tyre, Dahiye, Kfarshima…) and most of our infrastructure has been targeted at and destroyed. Lebanon has indeed been taken ten years back in time. This summer was expected to be a ‘golden summer’ for Lebanon. Hotels were booked, tickets for festivals and concerts were sold out, and tourism was finally beginning to boom again in the country. Lebanon was finally beginning to show its true colors and break away from its war-torn image. All that, has been destroyed in just a matter of days- if not hours. But we can and will rebuild our infrastructure. We have done it before and we will do it again. Lebanese and their friends in all four corners of the world, from Brazil and North America to Cyprus and Nigeria can send money later and help rebuild the country. Saudi Arabia has already done so.But what about the innocent lives that have been lost? Starting with the eight Lebanese Canadians- my fellow citizens on both sides, I being both Lebanese and Canadian? Continuing with the 12 members of family trying to leave their village? To the other 180 (and still counting) lives that were carelessly taken? To the four Brazilian lives that were taken too? Their lives cannot be rebuilt ….their lives were taken without a second thought. So far, only innocent lives have been taken. No, their lives have not been sparred. Children’s lives have not been sparred. Friends fleeing through the Syrian borders had to see dead bodies being pushed away in a trolley. These images will stay with them for life.Hearing bombs and seeing our villages destroyed one after the other, we are afraid to sleep. We are afraid to have a quick shower, worrying that we have to rush down to the shelters at any instant-these shelters being no more than the garages of our buildings. How safe are they? You tell me.People like me, in areas that are still relatively safe, have been rushing to the supermarkets to buy food stocks. Gas is running short as gas stations are closing down. Back to electricity cuts, we are scared to take the elevator. Bread in some bakeries have started to be rationed. Food is still abundant for people who can afford it in supermarkets in these safe areas but it is no longer abundant in South Beirut or in the Southern villages that have been bombed. Hundreds of jobs have been lost. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed. With bomb threats reigning in the air, we are scared to drive anywhere or go anywhere. Even in our very own homes, we do not feel safe. I personally have stopped going to work and am hibernating at home. Are my loved ones or friends going to die today? You tell me. Is my friend stuck in Saida safe? Those supposed flyers that fall out of the Israeli planes to warn Lebanese villagers to flee their villages fall at most, 60 minutes before these villages are wiped away. How much time does that give people to run away? What about the people who cannot read or the tourists or second or third generation returnees who cannot read Arabic? And how can they run away if their roads and bridges have been destroyed? You tell me.No…. Hizbollah should not have kidnapped those two Israeli soldiers. They did that without the Lebanese population’s or the Lebanese government’s knowledge. Indeed, those two soldiers should be sent back to Israel. But that does not give the Israeli army the right to go and destroy entire villages and take away innocent lives or the right to bombard our whole infrastructure. They did not even try to negotiate before starting to destroy our infrastructure. Yes, Hizbollah should be disarmed. An immediate cease fire must take place now and the international community must intervene to help do that so that the Lebanese government can take control again. Prime Minister Siniora is a good man, with his heart in the right place. We must give him the chance to take control. He cannot do so if there is no immediate cease-fire. This conflict has gone beyond the capture of the two soldiers. It has spilled over, way over into the danger zone. Do we really want to see the start of world war three? You tell me, is that what you want? Do we really want to ignore the value of human life? Day by day, more tears and blood are spilled….mainly in Lebanon right now but also on all sides. In Haifa, in Gaza, in Beirut…. In Palestine, Israel and Lebanon, let’s not forget in Iraq…. Is this really what you want? What for? What for? Please, just tell me what for.No. I stand up and calmly cry out with dignity and love for humanity: NO. NO MORE VIOLENCE. NO MORE VIOLENCE. PLEASE PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONS FROM LEBANON AND ISRAEL TO CANADA AND FRANCE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD, STAND UP AND SAY NO.Tell me you will not stand idly by, tell me that you will not close your eyes, tell me that you will not give up. Tell me that you will raise your voice of peace and help intervene now, fast and urgently before more human- HUMAN- lives are lost.

Thank you for listening, from Lebanon with tears.

Nathalie Malhame
Beirut, Lebanon, 18th of July 2006

Letter Two: A cry for Lebanon by Caroline Malhame, in Montreal, Canada

For Nat with love,Gandhi once said that an eye for an eye would only end up making the whole world blind. I watch horrified as the thick black smoke of what people suspect to have been caused by napalm creeps over the golden beaches and villages in the southern tip of my country – the scapegoat of the Middle East. I scream in shock and disbelief as lethal rockets, autographed by pretty 14-year-old Israeli girls that should be at home playing with dolls, are sent thundering on the southern suburbs of our capital, I cry as Christian and Muslim parents weep all over Lebanon holding their dead children in their arms. I watch speechless as Beirut’s airport and all of Lebanon’s ports and roads are bombarded over and over again and as four million innocent Lebanese civilians, 50,000 of which also happen to be Canadian citizens, are cut off from the rest of the world and punished for a crime everyone knows they did not commit. If Gandhi found the Mosaic law harsh, I cannot help but wonder what he would have made of the Israeli policy “an eye for a whole country?” Would he or any other non-racist human being have ever had the audacity to call it a “measured response”?Granted, two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by a militia called Hezbollah. There is no one sorrier about that than the thousands of Lebanese refugees that have lost their homes and their livelihood and are taking shelters in schools and hospitals… No one has paid a greater price for this than the families of the 200 innocent civilians who have died over the last six days as they attempted to flee the country. There is no one that feels their pain more than the 400 people that are lying in hospital beds drenched in their own blood. There is no one more upset about this than the families of the innocent Canadian civilians who lost their lives under the Israeli attacks, and there is no one who is sadder about this than the Lebanese people like me, who do not feel Hezbollah represent them and are now glued to their telephones and television sets, constantly wondering if their family members are dead or alive.It has been less than a week since Israel began strangling Lebanon. The bombs that have been dropped over my homeland have been estimated to cost my country 5 billion desperately needed dollars in lost tourism-related income and more than 3 billion dollars in destroyed infrastructure: buildings, roads, bridges, milk factories and power plants that have take millions of dollars to build crumbled in a matter of minutes. A country that took fifteen years to get back on its feet was destroyed in a matter of days… But the war machine’s thirst for blood has not yet been quenched and the attempt to dismantle Hezbollah is completely backfiring... The only thing they have managed to do so far with their offensive is to weaken the Lebanese government and shatter the country, robbing it of any resources to resolve the problem.I am angry because everyone knows that a major part of the Lebanese population did not back Hezbollah and that Lebanon is being punished for crimes it did not commit. I am angry because Israel, Iran and Syria are simply involved in a show of muscle strength at the expense of Lebanese lives. I am angry because innocent Lebanese children are paying for this with their lives on a daily basis and no one is doing anything about it. I am horrified for all the victims who are paying the price and their families whether they be Lebanese, Palestinians or Israelis and am sorry for the unnecessary losses of human lives.It is early in the morning and I have just heard from an Orthodox Christian friend that his church was bombed in Rashaiya with illegal phosphorous bombs, as six faithful were gathered inside. I spent yet another sleepless night. I am concerned about my father, a Lebanese Canadian who moved back to his hometown two years ago because he dared to hope Lebanon had finally entered a new peaceful era.I am concerned about my little sister, who is hiding at home frightened, trying to drown out the sounds of the war planes that are dropping bombs on either side of her relatively safe neighbourhood and who cried and screamed in fear on the phone yesterday begging me to ask for a ceasefire… as if I could do a thing.I am concerned about my great aunt… an old Christian woman with a liver disease who courageously withstood the previous war in her Shiite neighbourhood, who is again stuck alone at home, terrified to get the medication she needs or leave for a safer area because stepping out into the streets would mean certain death.I am concerned about my aunt who has to take care of her handicapped brother and has just lost her job and only source of livelihood because of the war and has no food left at home or money to buy provisions.I am concerned about my friend who had to walk over her dead neighbours bodies to get into her car in an unsuccessful attempt leave the country.I am concerned about my uncle, a professor at Universite de Montreal, his wife and his two Canadian-born children and all of my Canadian friends, who had gone on a summer holiday and who are now stuck in Lebanon, wondering how many more Canadians have to die before our prime minister stops harping about the right for Israel to “defend” herself and starts concerning himself with the 50,000 Canadian citizens whose lives are in danger and that have been desperately trying to get out of the country but have yet to receive help from their embassy…How dark must the smoke be before people look our way?How many people must die before people start caring?How loud must the screams be before people start hearing?I dream of a Middle East where Muslim, Jew and Christian listen to their Torahs, Bibles and Korans and get over the fear of loving their neighbour and find another pastime than killing each other. I dream of a Middle East where Palestinians are treated as human beings with rights. I dream of a Middle East with Israelis who are no longer frightened and know that the word Arab is not a synonym for terrorist. I dream of a Middle East where Lebanese feel their children are safe and Syrians no longer have to worry about an enemy. I dream of a united Lebanon where Druze, Shia, Sunni, Orthodox Christians, Greek Catholics and Maronite all retain hope and work together to once again rebuild their country. I dream of world leaders brave enough to care for the world more than they care for the amount of cash they can stash in their pockets; of a freedom that is not brought about by force and a democracy that is not brought about by war…I dream of the day the value of a human life will surpass the price of oil and the day the race for arms will be outweighed by the drive for piece.What I dream most of right now is for Canadians and Lebanese and all concerned citizens of the world to find their voice and speak out so to push the international community to open their eyes and take action and obtain a ceasefire before it is too late.By Caroline Malhame, Montreal, CanadaJuly 19th, 2006Letter three:Where are we headed? What are we to expect?Choosing the Path of Peace, Justice and LoveWhere are we headed? What are we to expect? None of us know. Some of us speculate, maybe it will end in 2 weeks, maybe at the end of the month, but we don’t and can’t know for certain. We’ve been told that schools will probably open in December rather than in September. If we only knew what to expect, somehow it would make things easier. But we’re held captive to a cruel uncertainty, waiting, waiting…. waiting….Most of us expect that the next two weeks will not be easy, the nightmare will not end but will instead continue. The Israeli politicians are adamant to continue bulldozing their way through Lebanon, adamant not to let the Qana murder bring about a cease-fire.They claim to need another 10 to 14 days… to do what exactly? To kill more innocent cilivians? To rob more innocent children, women and men of their lives? To bombard more roads and bridges? To do to more damage to Lebanon’s economy and environment? Of the 820 people or so that have died and of the 3000 or so people that have been injured so far, most were civilians, poor civilians who could not afford to leave their villages. An Israeli spokesperson on T.V claimed that 400 Hizbollah supporters were killed, but that’s not true. Civilians have been killed, in all maybe 25 Hizbollah fighters have been killed only. Are they trying to reassure their people? Are they trying to save face? Are they trying not to discourage their soldiers? These poor young men, if not boys, that are sent off to fight with a biased version of story, if you can call it a story… I see it as more of a nightmare… a horrible, surreal, never-ending nightmare, than a story.Sad, that so many young soldiers whether Lebanese or Israeli, sons to some, lovers to others, will die stupidly, for stupidity. Where are our world leaders that believe in love, humanity and peace? Where have the men of wisdom and great courage gone to? Killed? Assasinated? Gibran Tueni….Bachir Gemayel… so many killed. Even Rabin, a peaceful Jew who believed in peace, was killed. We must give voice to people who believe in peace, peace for all instead of to people who are greedy for land, oil and power. Siniora may lead us forward, but what about this Olmert? He seems to be want to stretch his muscle, not his heart. A new leader, he has yet to prove himself.As I’m writing, from the safety of my father’s mountain house, I hear planes… though the Israeli politicians claimed to have agreed to a 48 hour cease-fire, their aviation can still be heard hoavering above our houses, preventing us from enjoying the calm of nature’s stars. Ah, ‘big sigh’, nature, how I feel so nostalgic. I long to swim in the immensity of Ayia Napa’s seas like I did as a child, feeling free and happy; unaware of the cruelty of human kind. Lucky I was to have been whisked away at the age of three from my war-torn home-country and shielded from the horrors of the long drawn out wars of 1982 ….1990. Many children were not as lucky as me. Ah, ‘big sigh’, how I long to stretch my arms and smell the freshness of Montreal’s Park Mont-Royal like I did as a university student, feeling adventurous, creative and peaceful. How I long, wish and pray that this grim, horrible, inhumane reality were just a bad dream that I could wake up from. But no matter how many times I shut my eyes tight, hoping real hard, I find myself opening them to the same harsh reality. This is real Nat. This is real.BUT WHY? It’s UNFAIR! I want to love life not hate it! I want to love my fellow human beings not hate them!!! It’s so hard to keep on being positive and happy when you see such atrocities, such inhumane atrocities taking place. I do not have the right to complain. My home has not been destroyed yet, I have not lost a child in an inconceivable way, an innnocent child that had nothing to do with dirty war and politics. I was not forced to flee my village, on foot as the roads and bridges were destroyed. I do not need to be rushed to a hospital urgently, before it’s too late …. and…But will I? If this doesn’t end today, now and urgently, could I lose my father? Could I lose my partner? Will I have to abandon my cats? Fluffy and Barbara? No! I refuse to even think about it! I cannot think about it! I will go crazy if I do. I prefer not to. Denial is better. It’s not my destiny to die now.But was it their destiny to die, these 820 Lebanese people? Was it the destiny of the 3000 Lebanese who are injured? Will some stay handicapped for life? Some old people from the South can no longer remember their own names, the trauma they experienced being too great. Is it not possible to have peace in the area? Must this volcano keep erupting? Can it not become extinct and be replaced by love and commradeship? Must Lebanese, Israelis and Palestians, keep on being at odds, at dangerous, lethal, inhuman odds, with each other? Are we really so different that we could not get along? Do we really not want to live peacefully with each other? Must I really worry about how I will one day raise my children in this crazy world?On BBC’s Have Your Say, some American person had written that Israelis have bomb shelters while Lebanese do not as the Israelis are the ones aggressed while the Lebanese have never been aggressed. This ignorant comment fueled my anger, because it showed just how unaware some people are of reality. Can you blame them when the media they watch is so biased, so one-sided? How can they know any different? First of all, the US sends billions of dollars to Israel, so it’s normal they can afford such shelters, while Lebanon has so much debt and receives very little aid. While the US sent about 50 billion dollars to Israel just for fuel for its planes and while it regularly sends it money, it sent very little money for aid to Lebanon in comparision, maybe 20 thousand or million dollars and does not usually send it money. Second of all, since 1982, the year I was born, Lebanon has been subject, on and off to Israeli aggression, so it is very incorrect to say that Lebanese people have never suffered at the hands of Israeli politics. Third of all, Lebanese people are not the type to hold grudges, they’ve suffered so much, they know that it’s a waste of time to hold on to hate. Instead, they prefer to forgive and forget and look forwards to a brighter, better future so they did not spend their time building strong shelters. After 17 years or more of war, they wanted to breath a bit. But… their breath is being poisoned, their oxygen is being taken away…..both literally and metaphorically. It has been reported that harmful, illegal toxins and chemicals have been released. Our we some scientific experiement? Are the lives of Lebanese really worth so little? Play fair if you want to play at all. Lebanese can still forgive, but this time they will not forget.They will give voice to their victims, and to all victims, be they Lebanese, Israeli or other. Lebanese seek not to hate, but to love, both life and life’s people. Lebanese seek to provide their children with hope, with a happy childhood, free from war and terror, but it seems like their neighbours, on all sides will not let them. So many are those that are seemingly jealous of Lebanon and its beauty. So many are those that seem to want to strangle it of all life, of all inspiration.If this were not the case, if Hizbollah was all Israel was after, why would it spill oil all over Lebanon’s shores? Why would it cause such an environmental disaster? Why would it keep taking the lives of so many children? Why would it need so much time to allow humanitarian aid corridors into Lebanon? Why would it not engage in urgent negociations instead of try to take Lebanon so far back in time? If Israel is not interested in occupying parts of Lebanon again, why is it demanding that so many kilometres of the south be abandoned? Why are they threatening to move in closer to the Litani river? Why should the potential blue line not be spread out evenly, and by evenly, I mean evenly, between Israeli and Lebanese land? Isn’t that only fair considering that both countries right now feel the need to protect their people?In a few short words what is happening right now in the region is an INSULT to humanity. We’re in 2006, yet still so many lives are being cruely taken by fellow human beings, not by aliens or by some foreign creatures from outer-space.It’s so hard to hang on to hope, it’s so easy to give in to hate and despair but I refuse to and will continue to refuse to for as long as I breath. I have known a happy childhood, I have known a happy life. I’ve lived among people of all walks of life, peacefully be they Jew, Christian, Moslem, Druze or non-religious. And peace, love and justice is the path I choose to continue to walk on.All your tanks and your bombs will not stop me for there is a God above who is watching and no matter how it appears, good always wins in the end. You will never destroy Lebanon’s heart, it will always revive and rise up like a phoenix from its flames. Nathalie MalhameAugust, 1st, 2006Beirut, Lebanon
posted by Nathalie Malhame at 11:18 AM

Who is the real terrorist?

2006-08-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

This picture is from the Israeli strike on Qana in Lebanon earlier this week. A child doesn't wake up to play with his toys, but receives bombs from Israel.

...this is terrorism in action for more picture please visit http://www.lebaneselobby.org/

News Update: Hizbollah Surrounds Israeli Military inside Hospital in Lebanon Baalback

2006-08-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

Tayyar.org News Update:

Hizbollah Surrounds Israeli Military inside Hospital in Lebanon Baalback.

Hizbollah also says that they have inflicted injuries to 3 israeli soldiers who have landed from the Helicoptors.

CNN News Update:

Israel land in Hospital and recover one of the Israeli Hostages

AUB Medical Center Needs Urgent Help

2006-08-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Please Help and Donate to keep the electricity alive in AUB's Medical Center. Thousands of Children, Women and Civilians in Lebanon need your help to stay alive....

American Univerity of Beirut in Lebanon, How to Help:
http://www.aub.edu.lb/challenge/help.html

Other Blogs on the Problem in AUB/AUH:
http://beirutlive.blogspot.com/2006/08/aub-medical-center-needs-help.html

http://lebaneseamericanbloggers.blogspot.com/2006/08/abcs-story-on-current-crises-in.html

ADC Appalled by Attack on Seattle Jewish Center

2006-08-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

ADC Press Release:

ADC Appalled by Attack on Seattle Jewish Center Washington, DC July 28, 2006 The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is appalled by the apparent hate-motivated crime that took place earlier today against the Jewish Federation Center in Seattle. Preliminary news reports have indicated that a man opened fire Friday afternoon, killing one and wounding five others. ADC calls on the FBI for an immediate and thorough investigation into this attack and demands that the guilty parties be brought to justice.

ADC President Mary Rose Oakar said, "This attack is absolutely unacceptable. ADC has been consistent in condemning hate-motivated crimes and any attacks aimed at civilians, no matter who the victims or the perpetrators may be. ADC urges the FBI and law enforcement agencies to make every effort to track down all perpetrators responsible for this crime.”

ADC Michigan Statement

“This act of hate is absolutely deplorable,” states ADC Regional Director Imad Hamad. “As a civil rights organization, we condemn all acts of violence and hate against any individual, or group.

Such acts serve only to divide communities who have worked hard to strengthen relationships and fight for justice.”ADC Michigan extends its deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim who was killed so senselessly in this act and extends its best wishes to those who were injured. In addition, we reiterate the call of our National Office to bring the perpetrators of this horrific crime to justice.

Such acts serve only to divide communities who have worked hard to strengthen relationships and fight for justice.”

ADC Michigan extends its deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim who was killed so senselessly in this act and extends its best wishes to those who were injured. In addition, we reiterate the call of our National Office to bring the perpetrators of this horrific crime to justice.

Hizbollah surrounded Israeli Military Helicoptor Troops

2006-08-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Tayyar.org News Update:

Hizbullah says according to Tayyar.org that they have currently surrounded a group of Israeli Military that Landed from the Helicoptor in Baalback.

Jon Hagan: US Evangalical saying that the End of Times is starting in the Middle East

2006-08-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

John Hagan is suggesting that the current crises in the middle east is the start of the End of Time...

Israel Hits Hospital in Baalbak thinking that a senior Hizbollah Member is being treated inside

2006-08-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

Tayyar.org News Update:

Israel just hit a hospital in Baalabak in Lebanon thinking that there is a senior Hisbollah leader being treated.

Israel have also hit 3 gass stations and are bombing streets that head into Syria

-------------------------------------------

This is simply wrong! I don't understand how the soldier sitting in the helicopter or in the Airplane targets a hospital. Don't they know that the hospital is filled with civilians being treated for the Israeli atrocities.

There should be no justification whatsoever in targeting ambulances or hospitals. This is simply outrageous and not humane. This is outright terrorism...

Syria's Ambassador to the UN talking on CNN: (CNN Update)

2006-08-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Syria's Ambassador is saying that the situation is not as bad as its being reported thru the US media. He also suggests that if Israel attacks Syria they will respond into Israel. He also said that Syria is prepared defend itself.

Syria supports an immediate ceasefire and a comprehensive solution to the middle east problem and they want to live in peace with Israel and the occupation should stop.

Hospital Hikma in Baalback is Under Fire and Flames from Israeli Attacks

2006-08-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

Israel just hit a hospital near Baalback...for more information please visit www.tayyar.org

Major Ground Escalation in Israeli Offensive in Lebanon

2006-08-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Israel has started their next phase of attacks on Lebanon starting with landing Helicoptors into Baalback and sending troops into Southern Lebanon. (Courtesy CNN)

Lack of Security Delay's Aid to Lebanon

2006-08-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have had to delay the despatch of aid to south Lebanon because they failed to get security guarantees from Israel and Hezbollah.

(Courtesy: Aljazeera)

Israel is sending leaflets north of the Litani River waning them to get out

2006-08-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Israel...sending leaflets again... (Courtesy: CNN)

and more civilians have a few seconds before they die...

August 1st Minute by Minute News Update

2006-08-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

http://lebanonupdates.blogspot.com/2006/08/minute-by-minute-august-1.html

ABC's Story on the current crises in American University of Beirut Hospital

2006-08-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

This story is currently being pitched for ABC television airtime.Please forward the web article to anyone you know who cares about AUB& the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. The more "clicks" andmessage postings the article gets the more leverage it gives to getthe story on TV, where millions will see it.

Beirut ER: Time's Running Out

July 31, 2006 7:10 PM

Lara Setrakian Reports:
There is not much time left before the lights will go out at theAmerican University of Beirut Medical Center. Oil tankers ready todeliver the much-needed fuel are standing by in nearby waters, butthey are being kept out by the Israel's blockade.The hospital has only enough oil to fuel their generators for amaximum of 20 days, or as little as seven days if the state cuts offthe little power it now provides, according to Dr. Nadim Cortas, Deanof the medical program.Israel and others may fear the fuel those tankers carry would go toHezbollah fighters, used for their trucks and artillery. But Cortasargues this point."We see no reason why there should be a blockade on fuel delivery. Itcould be conditional, only going to hospitals, and it can bemonitored. It wouldn't go straight to [Hezbollah] warriors. Theblockade has no benefit to Israel except to inflict more suffering onthe civilian population."What he and other doctors are hoping is that Israel will let the oilthrough, with either the Lebanese government or third-party agencies,like the Red Cross, making sure it gets to the hospital.American University Medical Center is Lebanon's biggest and mostimportant hospital. But with the electric grid damaged and the currentshortage of fuel, the lights could very well go out for the healthcareprovider.Without the Medical Center, more refugees would likely get theirhealthcare from Hezbollah's grassroots aid efforts. Hezbollahcurrently hands out food and care in many of the makeshift sheltersaround Beirut housing refugees from the south of Lebanon and southernsuburbs of Beirut.If power runs out, it's unclear what would happen to the dozens ofrefugees and war injured at the hospital, not to mention the routinepatients waiting to give birth or receive organ transplants."[The Hospital] has received dozens of injured and will receivetransfers of dozens more from the south," Dr. Cortas says. "And we'vesaid yes to all of them. Payment is no issue."

Lebanese Americans Call for Peace...

2006-08-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

It is without a doubt that the current circumstances along with their senseless outcome are taking a huge toll on all civilian victims of this acute violence. The fundamental result of such exposure to war, bloodshed, destruction, and the loss of life is the manifestation of trauma and other psychological and behavioral syndromes that will change any human life for times to come. Such changes and sufferings will certainly make it harder to resolve any conflict to reach everlasting peace.
Psychological damages will extrapolate, as the violence continues, to make it harder to reach peaceful solutions. The short and long term suffering from the current trauma will make way to post traumatic culture to emerge, in which if treatment and healing were not properly administered, violence will govern and reign over resolving any further conflict. Consequences that we have been living in for years.

Such consequences of the continuous exposure to trauma by any human being are many of which and, most importantly, is the unconscious reproduction of the traumatic events. It is very customary for trauma victims to lose self esteem, and trust in others as well as to develop chronic anxiety and feeling of hopelessness which in many cases lead to suicidal tendencies or the engagement in risky behavior such as violence. Is this the vicious circle that we want our children to live within? How can we plan and strategize for peace and at the same time create the circumstances for more violence.

The time has come to re-evaluate our actions and for our leaders to understand that political rhetoric and ideological principles do not have the right to claim innocent souls, souls of children, seniors and other victims. We must clearly understand and allocate resources to deal, for once and for all, with the rebuilding of societies under peaceful conditions and to pay attention to the longer healing process that needs to be implemented everywhere to allow for the creation of PEACE.

If any society in the Middle East, or elsewhere, in our village called “world” aspires to live in a civilized state, it must pay genuine attention to the needs of its people, to disallow provocative incidents and power plays and to use all means to transition its populace to be productive member living in a democratic society where freedom and peace reign.

Wasseem S. Kabbara is the President of Freedom and Peace Trust, an American not for profit organization and a strategic investment advisor, he can be reached via wasseem@freedomandpeace.org .

We must stop this vicious cycle of creating circumstances to distance each other's from finding peaceful solutions to any conflicts. Political rhetoric and ideology do not have the right to claim the souls of innocent children and other victims

ADC News Update and Events Update in Michigan

2006-08-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

http://www.adcmichigan.org/

ADC MICHIGAN NEWS AND VIEWS

Save the Date:
ADC Michigan Annual Gala
December 1, 2006, Hyatt Regency Hotel Dearborn
For more information, call 313-581-1201

Join ADC’s White Ribbon Campaign for Peace in Lebanon and Palestine
ADC Michigan reminds all peace-loving citizens to join its White Ribbon Campaign. ADC has launched its White Ribbon Campaign to oppose the war on Lebanon and Palestine and symbolize the immediate call for a cease-fire. We are encouraging all peace loving organizations and individuals to initiate white ribbon visibility efforts in your area.

CAAO to Hold Community-Wide March and Rally for Peace – TODAY at 5:30 PM
The Congress of Arab American Organizations (CAAO) calls on all peace-loving people to come together on TODAY, August 1, 2006 at 5:30 PM for a demonstration and rally in opposition of the continued brutal Israeli aggression against the innocent civilians of Lebanon, including the latest attack on Qana, Lebanon, which has taken the life of over 500 people in the past three weeks and to continue its call for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire to the violence and a demand for US intervention in the conflict. Participants are asked to gather on Warren Avenue and Oakman Blvd. in Dearborn promptly at 5:30 PM.

IMPORTANT: Please Note the Following:

Heat Advisory
ADC calls on all intended participants to take note of the heat advisory that is in affect for today and to take all necessary precautions, as the heat index is predicted to reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Participants are urged to wear appropriate clothing and remain hydrated.
Compliance
It is essential that as many community members as possible participate in this public demonstration and exercise their rights, as citizens of this country, to voice their concerns to our government. Please keep in mind that, in order to be effective, we must maintain a high level of organization and be in full compliance with the instructions that will be given by the Congress of Arab American Organizations. For more information, call 313-581-1201.

ADC Establishes Relief Fund for Lebanon
ADC has established a Humanitarian Relief Fund for Lebanon
All checks should be made payable to ADCRI Lebanon Relief, and mailed to the ADC National Office at 1732 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20007. People are encouraged to support this effort, which will work to aid the crisis in Lebanon. All checks should be made payable to ADCRI / Lebanon Relief, and mailed to the ADC National Office at 1732 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20007.

ADC Commends State Rep. for Introducing Resolution Urging Ceasefire
ADC Michigan commends Michigan State Representative Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens) for introducing a House Resolution (HR 291) last week to urge President Bush to bring about an immediate ceasefire to stop the killing of innocent civilians on all sides of the conflict. “Within a mere matter of days, hundreds of people have wrongfully lost their lives,” said Miller. “This is a grave humanitarian disaster and we must do all that we can to help promote a peaceful resolution.” ADC urges community members to call Representative Miller’s office, at 517-373-0159, and thank him for his efforts and for supporting peace. Senator Chuck Hagel Calls for Ceasefire in Middle East In an unexpected move, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel broke with the Administration and publicly voiced his opposition yesterday to the US’s decision not to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East. According to a CNN report, Senator Hagel asked, "How do we realistically believe that a continuation of the systematic destruction of an American friend -- the country and people of Lebanon -- is going to enhance America\'s image and give us the trust and credibility to lead a lasting and sustained peace effort in the Middle East.

ADC Michigan commends Michigan State Representative Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens) for introducing a House Resolution (HR 291) last week to urge President Bush to bring about an immediate ceasefire to stop the killing of innocent civilians on all sides of the conflict. “Within a mere matter of days, hundreds of people have wrongfully lost their lives,” said Miller. “This is a grave humanitarian disaster and we must do all that we can to help promote a peaceful resolution.” ADC urges community members to call Representative Miller’s office, at 517-373-0159, and thank him for his efforts and for supporting peace.

Senator Chuck Hagel Calls for Ceasefire in Middle East
In an unexpected move, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel broke with the Administration and publicly voiced his opposition yesterday to the US’s decision not to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East. According to a CNN report, Senator Hagel asked, "How do we realistically believe that a continuation of the systematic destruction of an American friend -- the country and people of Lebanon -- is going to enhance America's image and give us the trust and credibility to lead a lasting and sustained peace effort in the Middle East?" To read the entire report, visit:
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/31/hagel.mideast.

Wall Street Journal Editorial on Israel’s Losing War
Today’s Wall Street Journal features an editorial by Bret Stephens that discusses Israel’s losing war in Lebanon. In the article, Stephens states, “The conflict with Hezbollah -- a 15,000-man militia chiefly armed with World War II-era Katyusha rockets -- is now in its 21st day. So far, Israel has nothing to show for its efforts: no enemy territory gained, no enemy leaders killed, no abatement in the missile barrage that has sent a million Israelis from their homes and workplaces.” To read the entire article, visit: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/31/hagel.mideast.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Gathering for Families Returned from Lebanon – August 2, 2006
On Wednesday, August 2, 2006 at 6:30 PM, the Islamic Center of America (19500 Ford Rd.) in Dearborn will host a gathering for the families that were evacuated safely from Lebanon in recent days. This event is open to the public. For more information, call 313-593-0000.

Memorial Service for Qana – August 3, 2006
On Thursday, August 3, 2006 at 6:30 PM, the Lebanese Counsel General in Detroit, Dr. Ali Ajami, will host a memorial service and community gathering at the Islamic Center of America (19500 Ford Rd.) in Dearborn to honor the victims of the Qana Massacre and all others who have been killed in the past three weeks at the hands of Israeli brutality against Lebanon. For more information, call 313-593-0000.

Demonstration in Detroit – August 4, 2006
On Friday, August 4, 2006 at 4:30 PM, the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice will hold a demonstration, calling for the cessation of
Participants will begin gathering at the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel entrance (corner of Randolph and E. Jefferson) in downtown Detroit at 4:30 PM, and will march to Grand Circus Park at 6:00 PM. For details, please visit: www.mecawi.org, or contact David Sole at 313-680-5508.

U.S.–Israeli Terror and Aggression Against Palestine and Lebanon. Participants will begin gathering at the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel entrance (corner of Randolph and E. Jefferson) in downtown Detroit at 4:30 PM, and will march to Grand Circus Park at 6:00 PM. For details, please visit: http://www.mecawi.org/, or contact David Sole at 313-680-5508.

National Demonstration in Washington, DC – August 12, 2006
The Congress of Arab American Organizations (CAAO) in Michigan is calling for active participation in the National Emergency March on Washington on August 12, 2006, that will bring people together from all over the United States to converge in front of the White House and demand an end to Israeli aggression against Lebanon and Palestine. The CAAO is organizing buses to leave from Dearborn to DC. Those who are interested in attending are asked to contribute $75 to offset costs. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call the Palestine Office at 313-945-9660.

Today's Quick Minute by Minute update on Lebanon & Israeli's War

2006-08-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

http://lebanonupdates.blogspot.com/2006/08/minute-by-minute-august-1.html

Number of Lebanese Dead from the Israeli Offensive rise..

2006-08-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Alarabia TV just announced that the total number of Lebanese Dead is 830...

Is this Lebanon's September 11?

New Development (CNN)

2006-08-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Israeli Military Helicopters are in Baalbeck, they have just landed there...more to come

Update from Tayyar.org: The Lebanese Army tried to shoot down the Israeli Helicopters in Baalbeck...

AUB's Hospital AUH has 7 days worth of Electricity Left!

2006-08-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

My Aunt is currently being treated for cancer in the AUH. The medical supplies are running low and they are having a big problem now since the electricity will only last for a week or two. Israel have bombed all of the transportation and gas stations.

The ER at AUH is in disaster mode, they can't handle the number of civilians being treated and have very low medical supplies...

The world community is doing nothing. Most of the Aid to Lebanon have been sent by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

We the west have spent so much money do build our military why don't we spend one hour or one min thinking about the people who are being affected and trying to help them.

Think about the women, children and all the displaced civilians, the hospitals...etc

They need you, they need your help your support...

Please take a moment and go the ReliefLebanon.org and give money to the organizations that are helping the people in Lebanon.

Thanks...Peace

Thousands of Families Flee Lebanon

2006-08-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

One of my friends family is currently living in Brummana. They are saying that people are starting to plan to leave the country. There is no fuel or gass for electricity, water is starting to run out, the supermarkets have no more food...

What will happen if the Lebanese go out of Lebanon. Is this what Israel wants? do they want Lebanon to become a ghost town that is run by Hizbollah Militias?

Miami Peace Protest News Updates

2006-08-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

More articles in the news on the Peace Protest in Miami....check it out this is great

http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5401&news_iv_ctrl=1422

Beirut, Lebanon Before & After

2006-08-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

Israel is planning for a wider ground offensive

2006-07-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

Israel's Prime Minister declared Monday that there will be no cease-fire with Hizbollah...

(Courtesy: Guardian)

Israeli Strikes in the middle of the Red Cross...

2006-07-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

(http://www.stopdestroyinglebanon.com/)

This is the effects of Israel's Precision Guided Weapons that we given by the US Government to target "Terrorists"....

Who is the real terrorist?

Please don't suggest that Hizbullah where on top of this ambulance sending missiles into Israel...

Why do Wars happen?

2006-07-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Wars happen to test people's faith. The stronger the person's heart is the stronger he is able to make sound decisions and get close to God.

Weather it's a family living in Israel or a family living in Lebanon...both have suffered losses. People wake up! before there is no time to wake up...

Israeli Jailed for Refusing to fight in Lebanon

2006-07-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

(Courtesy: Guardian)

Amir Paster, 32, an infantry captain in the reserves and a postgraduate student at Tel Aviv University refused to join the military and was sentenced to jail.

"He said this war is against his moral values," said Ishai Menuchin, 48, a spokesman for Yesh Gvul, a group whose Hebrew name means "There is a limit".

You will always find people who have high moral values and choose peace instead of war. I think this is a great story...

United Nations (UN) Orders Iran to Halt Nuclear Program or Else!

2006-07-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

UN just ordered Iran to Halt its nuclear program or face sanctions. However Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Javad Zarif rejected the request. (Courtesy: AFP)

Iran claims that they seek nuclear technology only as an energy solution. Iran also claims that they do not want to produce nuclear bombs. I don't understand why Iran is going into such measures to produce Nuclear Energy if they didn't want to use it for bombs. It might be only to show other nations that they are somehow powerful, or it might be because of their ego's...

Guess what happened a couple of days ago... the US Congress has agreed to sell Nuclear Technology/Weapons to India.

There is no difference between India, Iran, US, Russia, China, North Korea, Israel...etc or any country who is trying to build, buy or sell nuclear weapons. It's all the same...some nations are more powerful than others; they seem to get a green light and other don't.

Although the UN Security Council has not been able to stop the bloodshed in Lebanon and force Israel and Hizbullah towards an immediate unconditional ceasefire. They have just succeeded at ordering Iran to stop their nuclear ambitions...They haven't succeeded to even talk about or stop the US from transfering weapons thru Britain to Israel, or from preventing the US from bombing Iraq...etc

"The clock is now ticking," US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. (Courtesy: AFP)

I wonder what that means... I only fear that leaders are using the UN to ralley their own agendas, to create more instabilities, to use weapons, to divide people...etc

Where are those JUST leaders...I look in the West and I can't find them, I look in the middle east and they don't exist, I look everywhere and find nothing...I only find leaders who care about their own ego's, leaders who want to gain power, leaders who enjoying bombing civilians, leaders who preach their people to execute sucide attacks on civlians, leaders who try to bridge gaps between the west and the middle east but fail to succeed, leaders who are afraid to say the truth even if it hurts them....

Atlanta Peace Ralley against war in Israel and Lebanon

2006-07-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006 from 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM across the street from the Israeli consulate on1100 Spring Street, Atlanta, GA.

>>STAND UP against the atrocities & injustice against humanity!

Miami Peace Protest Picture (Lebanon Israel War)

2006-07-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

This Protest was organized by the University of Miami Lebanese Organization.

Here are some pics from the protest also links for both arrticles in the Miami Herald and the Sun Sentinel and a link to the slide show of pics the sunsentinel had.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-crally30jul30,0,7676070.story

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/extras/graphics/slideshows/rally/

The World Reacts to Israel's War with Lebanon

2006-07-31T00:29:00.000-07:00

(Courtesy LebanonHeartBlogs)

Israel's Terrorist List in Lebanon

2006-07-31T00:25:00.000-07:00

(Annahar Caricature; Courtesy LebanonHeartBlogs)

I have a simple question...why do governments spend soo much money on precision guided weapons? ...isn't the purpose of those weapons to hit their targets?

Must see Video of Israeli Army...

2006-07-31T00:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1-_JmXQt0

Israeli Army kill a wounded women infront of her children. The Israeli army tried to stop the distribution of this video. However the media in Israel took hold of it and showed it out to the public.

Peaceful Demonstration in Boston and Speech about Lebanon & Israel

2006-07-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Justice for Lebanon
Peaceful Demonstration & Candlelight Vigil
Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Friday, July 28, 2006 at 6:00pm
speech by Loai Naamani

Two months ago, we held at MIT what we called TECHLEB06. It was the 1st International Conference on Technology Development in Lebanon, which many of you may have had the chance to attend and participate in.

We wanted to figure out what it would take to put Lebanon on the high-tech map of this world, how to transform it into a knowledge-based economy, how to become the Singapore of the Middle East, how to leverage our great Diaspora like the Irish did over the past few decades. We just felt we had all that it would take to get there.

And after 8 months of hard work and planning, guess what? We succeeded. We pulled off a quarter million dollar budget event that attracted registrants from 14 different countries, from 20 different states, from 160 companies, who all came together to MIT to think about how this can be done and how they can help Lebanon.

The Lebanese Government was swept off its feet! It had been so busy with reconstruction efforts after the Lebanese Uncivil War, with trying to reclaim a long lost sovereignty, with struggling to contain a colossal national debt, and for the first time genuinely understood and touched the value of what could become a very promising knowledge-based economy.

This same Prime Minister you see all over the news nowadays, shuttling pale-faced between the capitals of the world, good old Mr. Siniora, was considerate enough to invite us right after the conference to Beirut, to his Grand Serail, where he called for a press conference and summoned all media outlets, dignitaries, ambassadors, high-profile business leaders in Lebanon… and announced to the world his government’s endorsement of TECHLEB’s outcomes and recommendations. He created a new coordination unit to oversee Lebanon’s transformation. He kept this same TECHLEB brand and made it a national initiative.

We spoke that day of nanotechnology, we had plans of becoming the biotech center of the MENA region, we spoke of a semiconductor industry, of venture capital, of innovation… Yes, believe it or not. We talked about those things. A very grand vision. Many many ambitions. Dreams that were sweeter than sweet. We built sandcastles and cities of sand. We forgot – or perhaps pretended to forget – the ticking clock of the rising tide and, as we had witnessed first hand and many a time before, the shattering capacity of Israel’s waves of aggression.

Today, exactly today, July 28, was when the Planet Lebanon conference was scheduled to take place in Beirut. We had executives from Fortune 500 companies scheduled to visit Beirut, some for the first time ever, and spearhead an aggressive global market access initiative. We were trying to build for the first time a firm bridge between Lebanon and influential Lebanese in the Diaspora.

We built no bridge of course… and guess where we stand today instead?
We have 70 or so bridges less.
We have no airport.
We have less ports, less roads, less gas stations, less hospitals, …
We have 600 citizens less, another few thousand injured, close to a million or a fourth of our population displaced from their homes and cities, and now with all foreigners and tourists evacuated by their governments, the rest of the Lebanese population waits inside, besieged like dogs.

Mention of hi-tech and TECHLEB is a mockery now. Survival is all we talk about. And when and if this madness is over, of course the Lebanese should get their hands dirty again, and again, and again, in rebuilding their heaven of a country. Technology can wait. Who knows? Perhaps technology is only the destiny of some people, while the Lebanese are expected to only excel in and perfect… the art of survival.

We ask “Why?” – And they tell us Israel has the “right to defend itself”.

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to kill 600 Lebanese, 90% of which are innocent civilians, a third of which are children, and call it self-defense?
Is it!? Answer me loud and clear…
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to displace around a million civilians or fourth of the Lebanese population, sending them to the streets of other cities, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to systematically annihilate our civil infrastructure (bridges, roads, ports, power plants, gas depots, grain silos, hospitals, media stations, telecom infrastructure, civil service centers, dairy factories) and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to destroy our only airport and besiege the whole country by air and sea almost blocking all incoming humanitarian aid, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to cause multiple billion dollars worth of immediate damage to an economy that has already endured a 15-year long war and suffers the highest GDP to national debt ratio in the world, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to use cluster bombs and phosphorus-enriched bombs on civilian areas, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to carry out “surgical” destruction and “pinpoint” annihilation turning Lebanon into one big stenchful refugee camp, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to bomb ever single moving truck or van, even those with aid, even those with children, because they maybe transporting weapons or fighters, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to hit clearly marked Red Cross ambulances in separate attacks and leave three generations of the same Fawaz family fighting for their lives, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to hear the Israeli Military’s Chief of Staff order his forces to destroy 10 buildings in Beirut for every missile that falls on Haifa, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to invade, occupy, bomb, and destroy a sovereign nation, while disregarding more United Nations Resolutions than any other country on the planet, and while opposing the right of the people of Lebanon to resist, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to shred out and pulverize the dignity of a life-loving, freedom-loving people boasting one of the oldest civilizations on Earth and the first democracy in the Middle East, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

- Is it justifiable, ladies and gentlemen, to burn and tear into peaces the nation that Pope John Paul II, God bless his soul, labeled and entrusted to be a “message of liberty and coexistence to the world”, and call it self defense?
[audience chants: NO]

They tell you this is part of the global war on terror…

No. We tell them this is a war of terror, by terror, in terror, with terror, through terror. It is terror, just with a much bigger budget.

They tell you, and I am referring here to the honorable US Ambassador John Bolton, there is no moral equivalence between the Israeli civilian casualties dying in terrorist attacks and the Lebanese civilian casualties dying in attacks of self-defense (what an oxymoron!)
No. We tell him, and with all due respect, that we denounce the killing of Israeli civilians exactly as we denounce the killing of Lebanese civilians.

They tell you they need to give Israel more jet fuel because according to the pentagon “it will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,"

No. The numbers show that a third of the death toll this fuel has brought so far is the lives of children, while I can count on my fingers the number of Hezbollah fighters who have died. This is in flagrant violation of your Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act. You are hence sustaining, with your tax money and deafening indifference, a war between the F-16s of Israel and the children of Lebanon.

They tell you it is not the time for a ceasefire because they are looking for a “sustainable” peace, an “enduring” peace…

What noble notions; and who said the Lebanese want anything less?
But we also tell them, and with all due respect again, that without the “sustainability” of life, without the “endurance” of life, there will be no counterpart for Israel to wage peace with. If this peace is to take place between two sovereign countries, and not between an aggressor and the rubbles of a decimated nation… then a ceasefire is needed, and it is needed immediately.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The people of Lebanon are not afraid.
They are not in despair.
They have been through this before and will survive it again.

But they are angry.

The vacuum of your silence echoes much louder in their ears, hearts, and minds than the thunderous bombs that have pounded Beirut over the past 16 days and still do so as I speak.

Let us break this silence for once, even if with the relative noise of a pin drop from the heart of Boston, from the heart of the United States of America, the land of liberty and freedom.

Please repeat after me…[audience repeats in three-word phrase breaks]In solidarity with the people of Lebanon:

- We denounce Israel’s destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure and Israel’s killing of innocent civilians, just like we condemn the killing of Israeli civilians

- We demand an immediate, unconditional, unrestricted, reciprocal ceasefire to end all hostilities in Lebanon and a halt to the blockade terrorizing the entire population

- We implore the world, including this government, to help put an end to the destruction of Lebanon and aid in its full recovery

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Do you know what is worse than being blind?
It is not wanting to see.

Do you know what is worse than being deaf?
It is not wanting hear.

I hope the world, and especially this government, hears and heeds our whisper of a plea here today.

For we are here to tell them that the “national resistance” in Lebanon today is not in the missiles of Hezbollah, but in the unity of the people of Lebanon.

And there is nothing worse, ladies and gentlemen, than watching a nation sink with its people, its united people, while we stand here silently divided.

I forgot who said: “If you turn your face to the sun, all the shadows will fall behind.”

The people of Lebanon are enshrouded with shadows all around and have no one to turn their faces to today but you.

Please…

– and I feel lame for using the word “please” for anything else, with anyone else before –

Please, do not let them down.

Do not let Lebanon down.

- Loai Naamani

Israeli Planes bomb Qana in Lebanon

2006-07-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

Why did Israel bomb a shelter for children or women?
They said that Hizbullah had launched rockets or were close to the site...
I just hope that the person who was in charge in Israel didn't know, made a mistake...or thought that he was targeting Hizbullah. I hope that the bomb made a mistake, didn't hit its intended target but somehow ended up hitting this shelter. I hope Hizbullah are not using homes as places to send missiles into Israel...I hope that the person sitting in the war airplane is thinking about every single bomb that he sends in to Lebanon...and makes sure that it doesn't hit any civilians. I hope that the company who made those bombs, missiles sell them to people who don't want to use them...

I hope that people who are in charge push for peace and stop the war...

Rise in Hate Crimes against Arab-Americans

2006-07-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Its very interesting how the US media choses to show specific hate crimes but avoids talking about others....

Check this article by the CS Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0410/p01s03-ussc.html

Why are those stories not on CNN, Fox News or MSNBC?

This is a good research report that shows the rise in hate crimes after 9 11 on Muslims, Sikh's and Jews:

http://www.pluralism.org/research/profiles/display.php?profile=74090

Hizbullah - A Lebanese American's View

2006-07-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

ok... just note that this is only my view. Some people might agree or disagree...
I try to be as much as I can fair when I look into those things.

As a start I want to say that any group, nation, country or community that targets and kills civilians, women or children should be defined as terrorists.

Hizbullah, Everytime they hit Israel with any weapons or bombs that is completely wrong and should be stopped. There should be no justification for hitting and targeting civilians, women or children in Israel. Hizbullah are a political group that is affiliated with the Lebanese Government. They are part of the government and they do lots of good community work in the South of Lebanon. I believe that Lebanon has the right to have people fighting to free Lebanon from Israeli occupation. I don't think it was right for Hizbullah to kidnap or capture Israeli soldiers however I also think that Israel's response was simply outrageous and wrong. Also... Israel have kidnapped Lebanese Civilians...before Hizbullah kidnapped the Israelis.

Israel, like hizbullah have delibertly targeted civilians and killed women and children. So I also believe their response should be classfied as a terrorist response since it terrorizes civilians and kills them! Lebanon is not occupying Israel...its the other way around! so I don't think that Israel has a right to hit Lebanon to defend itself. Since the only type of fighting that Hizbullah did was in Lebanese Borders that are occupied by Israel. Recently Hizbullah have sent missiles into Israel...so I guess Israel is using this as a justification to do what they are doing...

But Hizbullah never sent those missiles into Israel until Israel hit parts in Lebanon where there are civilians and in communities who are agains Hizbullah! Yes...Israel hit in a couple of Christian communities as well as Sunni Communities that are not pro-hizbullah.

Anyway, I do not agree with Hizbullah's goals, religious approach or responses that kill civilians. I do support any lebanese citizen who wants to defend Lebanon from any occupation.

PEACE...

Violence can not be resolved by more violence...

2006-07-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

There is one thing that I strongly believe in...you can't punish someone for the crime of another. For example; Just looking at what happaned today in Seattle where 5 women where shot at is simply outrageous and totally wrong. Even though the leaders of Israel or the leaders of Hizbullah are killing inicent civilians it does not justify any person to go and kill or hurt people or civilians who are affiliated with those groups.

It is very sad when you have weak people who can't control their frustrations and resort to violence to solve problems.

Breaking News: One Killed, 4 Injured at Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle

2006-07-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Update: It is not clear who got shot. But the shooting was close to an office of a jewish organization. It is not clear what exactly happened....stay tuned...

(Source: Eye Witness from Seattle)

Another Update: (Courtesy Reuters)

One Dead, 4 Injured...at Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle

We have five victims, all female, ranging from their early 20s to 40s, who have been brought to Harbor View (Medical Center)," hospital spokeswoman Pamela Steele said.
"They have sustained wounds to the knee, groin, abdomen and arm. Three of the five have been taken to the operating room," she said.
The shooting took place at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, which had helped organize a large rally last weekend to demonstrate support for Israel in its fight against Hizbollah.

Another Update: (Courtesy: Komo News)

It looks like One person was arrested of pakistani origin and the Police is looking for another suspect. The shooting was close to the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. 5 women where shot at, one was killed and 4 injured.

Another update: The incident that happened wasn't related to the peace march during the same day. It was also at a different location...

A Side Note:

This is very bad...whoever did this should be prosecuted severly. I don't understand how those people think!

Latest Lebanon - Israel War Pictures...

2006-07-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

(Courtesy LebanonUnderSiege.gov.lb)

The Young Lebanon is totally destroyed by bombs...

Israel Bombing Children!

2006-07-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

A picture is worth a thousand words...

A doctor in Lebanon helping a young baby that was hit by Israeli War Planes...

Why did the Israeli war plane caring a US Bomb hit this baby? Are we trying to predict his future? is it because Israel thinks he will grow up to become a "terrorist"? What do you think the baby felt when he got hit? What was he thinking?

Imagine if this was your baby! your brother...or sister ; how would you react? wouldn't you want to do anything that you can to stop the war?

(Courtesy LebanonUnderSiege.gov.lb)

Silent Peace March for an end to the violence in Lebanon

2006-07-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Silent March
to Demand an Immediate Ceasefire
in Lebanon & Palestine

Human tragedy and destruction are unfolding each day in Lebanon and Palestine with hundreds of innocent civilians killed and thousands more injured as Israeli warplanes continue to bomb Lebanon. Children are dying.

How many more will die?

Saturday July 29th
11 a.m.
Starting Point:
*Kirkland Marina Park - 25 Lakeshore Plaza
Ending Point:
Houghton Beach Park
(across the street from Kidd Valley)
Kirkland, WA

Speakers begin at 11 a.m. at Kirkland Marina Park followed by a silent march to Houghton Beach Park
Signs & literature will be provided. We respectfully ask that you do not bring your own signs, you march silently & only march on the sidewalks.

*Directions to Kirkland Marina Park from I-405 North or South: ● Take Exit 18 & go west toward Kirkland on 85th. ● Go through the center of town, straight towards the water. ● The park will be directly in front of you. ● Bear right when you reach the water & the park will be on your left.

Arab American Community Coalition
info@theaacc.org
(206) 634-9001

Endorsed by Arab American Community Coalition, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Jewish Voices for Peace, Palestine Solidarity Committee, Seattle International Human Rights Coalition, Voices of Palestine, El Centro De La Raza

Why are they targeting Hospitals in Lebanon & Israel?

2006-07-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

This is very sad. Every time I hear a hospital is hit by an Israeli Airplane or a missile by Hizbullah I get frustrated. Hizbullah just hit a hospital near Nahraya on the Israeli and Lebanese Border according to Tayyar.org.

My aunt is currently in a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon being treated for cancer. Those people who have nothing to do with the war should not be targeted by either sides. The American University of Beirut Hospital is having problems getting medical aid to treat patients there because Israeli war planes are targeting the transportation system and the Red Cross/Crescent.

Check out this article...they are talking about how Israel had deliberately targeted the Red Cross Ambulances: http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1828142,00.html

Latest Statistics on the Death & Injured: (Courtesy Guardian)

The Toll:

Lebanese:
- Yesterday:
Civilian deaths: 8
Hizbullah deaths: 0
- Since outbreak
Military deaths: 66
Civilian deaths: 377
Wounded: 1,550+
Israeli:
- Yesterday
Civilian deaths: 0
Military deaths: 4
- Since outbreak
Military deaths: 24
Civilian deaths: 17
Wounded: 360+

Can there be peace in the middle east?

2006-07-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

It is great to see efforts from the Lebanese and Israeli side for a call for an immediate cease fire and PEACE.

Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade fire. From both sides of the issue is Loai Naamani, President of the MIT Lebanese Club and Beth Wasserman from the Jewish Alliance.Video listed here: http://www.boston.com/news/necn/Shows/news_night/

For more information please contact: loai@mit.edu

Israel targets Red Cross...

2006-07-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today Israel targeted the Red Cross

This is a more details press release from tayyar.org:

Red Cross ambulances destroyed in Israeli air strike on rescue mission
July 25, 2006
Suzanne Goldenberg in Tyre - The Guardian

The ambulance headlamps were on, the blue light overhead was flashing, and another light illuminated the Red Cross flag when the first Israeli missile hit, shearing off the right leg of the man on the stretcher inside. As he lay screaming beneath fire and smoke, patients and ambulance workers scrambled for safety, crawling over glass in the dark. Then another missile hit the second ambulance.

Even in a war which has turned the roads of south Lebanon into killing zones, Israel's rocket strike on two clearly marked Red Cross ambulances on Sunday night set a deadly new milestone. Six ambulance workers were wounded and three generations of the Fawaz family, being transported to hospital from Tibnin with what were originally minor injuries, were left fighting for their lives. Two ambulances were entirely destroyed, their roofs pierced by missiles. The Lebanese Red Cross, whose ambulance service for south Lebanon is run entirely by volunteers, immediately announced it would cease all rescue missions unless Israel guaranteed their safety through the United Nations or the International Red Cross. For the villages below the Litani river, the ambulances were their last link to the outside world. Yesterday, that too was gone, leaving the 100,000 people of Tyre district with no way of reaching hospital other than to take to the roads themselves, under the roar of Israeli war planes.
The fateful call to the Red Cross operations room came through at about 10pm - well after dark, a time when almost no Lebanese now dare venture out. At the Red Cross office in Tyre, three volunteer medics dressed in their orange overalls, and got into their ambulance. The plan was to drive halfway, meet the local ambulance, and transfer the three patients to their vehicle to return to Tyre. By Nader Joudi's reckoning, the ambulances had been stopped for barely two minutes. Two patients had been loaded: Ahmed Mustafa Fawaz, who had been hit by shrapnel in the stomach, and his son, Mohammed, 14. The volunteer attendant was just easing Jamila Fawaz, 80, inside and setting up a drip when the missile struck. He managed to get the old woman and the child outside, but there was no way to reach Mr Fawaz. "It was horrible," Mr Joudi said. "He was screaming, and we couldn't do anything." One of the members of the three-man crew from Tibnin radioed for help when another missile plunged through the roof. Ambulance crew and patients retreated to the cellar of a nearby building, then waited to be rescued, trying as best as they could to help the injured. "Each of us treated ourselves. There was no light," said Kassem Shaalan, a medic from Tyre. By the time patients and ambulance crew reached Tyre, Mr Fawaz was unconscious after losing one leg, and suffering severe fractures to the other. His son had lost part of a foot, and his mother's body was riddled with shrapnel. Mr Joudi had shrapnel wounds in his left arm, and Mr Shaalan cuts to the face and leg. He was adamant that the ambulances, with their Red Cross insignia on the roof, were clearly visible from the air. "I don't think there can be a mistake in two bombings of two ambulances," he said. Although the air strike marked the first time ambulances have been hit by Israel in this war, for Mr Shaalan and the other Red Cross volunteers it was only a matter of time. After two weeks of strikes designed to choke off possible supply lines to Hizbullah guerrillas, travel to many villages was just too dangerous. Coastal villages even within a few kilometers of Tyre are cut off. In some, corpses remain trapped in the rubble for days. But nothing is more perilous than travelling by night, and no more so than just before midnight that Sunday when another Red Cross crew set off from Tyre to pick up their injured colleagues. "I was trembling," said Ali Deeb, one of the volunteers on the mission. "It was too dangerous, and helicopters buzzing, and all through this, I am thinking one thing: the ambulance that left half an hour before you has already been injured, and you could be next." Later yesterday afternoon, two missiles landed in the building across the road from the Red Cross office.

Middle East: What is going to happen next in the Israeli Lebanese War

2006-07-24T23:22:00.000-07:00

I hope things get better...

The way its going now I only see things getting worse...

No one knows the future nor can predict what can happen next; this is a scenario that I hope doesn't happen...

What is Next: Israel Lebanon War 2006

1. Israel invades Southern Lebanon and creates a buffer zone in the Lebanese Territory.
2. Lebanon is divided; a portion supports Israeli - American policy in Lebanon and a portion supports the Lebanese right to fight an occupation thus creating a civil war in Lebanon.
3. More People Die on both sides...
4. US and Israel create a UN "Peacekeeping Force" that tries to calm the situation but fails to do so...
5. Israel and the US blame Syria and Iran for the division in Lebanon and warns Iran for failing to stop their nuclear ambitions.
6. Israel and US along with their allies go to War with Syria and Iran thus escalating the conflict regionally.
7. Arab Nations support the US foreign policy but receive strong protests from their citizens.
8. Iran, Russia and China align with each other and become allies due to economic benefits thus escalating the conflict and starting World War III.
9. Nuclear Weapons are used by both sides killing millions of people...
10. Nations get a "Wake Up" call, stop the war and create a peace agreement

Note: This is something that I just made up, I have no idea if this is going to happen... I just want to call the leaders who are currently leading those nations and ask them to bridge their gaps and build peace... there is no reason for us to go thru another World War... it's not too late now we still have a chance...

Map of Locations Bombed in Lebanon by Israel Planes that were funded by the US!

2006-07-24T23:12:00.000-07:00

More and more and more bombs... when is this going to stop!

I want to personaly thank the US Government for sending 30 million worth of medical aid to Lebanon and suppling Israel with 3 Billion dollars worth of weapons to bomb Lebanon.

http://thisisbeirut.blogspot.com/

Why do countries go to War? (Latest Lebanon Israel War Pictures)

2006-07-24T22:42:00.000-07:00

It is a very simple question... Why do countries go to war?

Imagine a World where there is no war... since the beginning of humanity people have fought each other for stupid reasons; political reasons, economic advantages, envy or simply to show their might and power. Millions of children have died and suffered from the repercussions of war.

Recent News Update from Tayyar.org suggests that over 1600 Lebanese people are injured, 400 Lebanese dead and 40 Israeli's dead...

I don't understand how leaders of nations make decisions to go to war without thinking about the consequences and talking responsibility for their actions. Today the person who is firing a missile doesn't know the person who he/she kills or injures.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/5183382.stm

Please share your thoughts on why countries go to War...

Speach by an Australian Lebanese on the War in Lebanon - Israel

2006-07-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

This is a speech by Houssam Abiad on the Lebanese Israeli War...
------------------------------------

I would like to welcome you all here today, and thank the organisers of this rally. Before I proceed any further, I wish to acknowledge and pay respect to the elders and the traditional owners of this land where we are holding today’s protest, also I would like us all to take a minute of silence for the innocent civilian lives that have been lost in every war through out the centuries.

Lebanon, O Beautiful Lebanon, a cradle of civilization, a nation of peace, hope and resilience. A nation of many colours, race and religions all united under one flag, one love, the love for Lebanon. Lebanon’s beauty does not only lie within its historical and geographical significance, Lebanon is a story of endurance, bravery and a vision for the future, a story of a nation that strives for justice and peace. Our grandparents and parents left to Australia in a state of war, they left in pursuit of a just life and a fair go, they left in hope that maybe one day peace will
find its way back to Lebanon.

After 15 long years of war that claimed the lives of as many as 170,000 people Lebanon was revived and back on its feet, stronger then ever, and against all odds. The tourism industry was booming, tourists flocked from all walks of life to experience the beauty of Lebanon and the generosity of its people. Unfortunately, the once thought dormant terror rose again, and with its rise came the destruction of so many hopes and dreams.

The last 10 days have been very hard for me, as they have been definitely to all of you. I have lived one war in Lebanon, and here I am witnessing another, the very same streets I once walked on, are now on Television, splattered with rubble, blood and limbs. We all have family and loved ones over there, and just the very thought of any of them being hurt rips me to parts. I’ve received so many text messages from little cousins, friends living in the south of Lebanon begging for the bombing to stop, the words of despair is all I receive, the words “mercy” and for the sake of God please stop killing us were barely visible on my mobile screen, as I wash away
my tears to read my messages, I realise that its only their words I read. Their words came through to Australia on my mobile phone, leaving behind their agony and their fears.

Today and once again the international community and the shameful Arab world stands and observers their children, sisters and brothers die helplessly. They die with no ammunition in their hands and with only fear in their eyes. They die for the sake of peace they all tell us, they die for the future of the world, well I say NO to a peace that harvests innocent lives, I say No to a peace that brings a country to its knees, I say NO to death in the quest for peace.

The United States blind support of Israel, arm length policy and double standards is the very root of this present conflict. US secretary of State, Condalisa Rise, on her visit to Lebanon three months ago praised its democracy and development, and she stands idol, while its proxy, Israel destroys not only the infrastructure of Lebanon but also its fragile democracy.

The Israeli bombing has destroyed all the infrastructure of Lebanon, displaced 500.000, injured over 1200 and killed over 300 innocent civilians, not to mention crippling the economy. The Israeli certainly are achieving what they have preached in the beginning of the current bombing, when they stated their wish is to put Lebanon back twenty years.

We don’t ask for special privileges from the international community, we don’t ask for their pity, we only ask for a balanced and a fair treatment. The United Nation Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted on the 2nd September 2004, calls for;
• The withdrawal of all non Lebanese forces from Lebanon, Achieved
• The support of a free & fair electoral process, Achieved
• The strict respect of the sovereignty of Lebanon, only recently violated by the massacres perpetrated on our soil as we speak.
• The disbanding & disarmament of all Lebanese & non-Lebanese militias, a step the whole international community knew was beyond what the Lebanese government can do.

Lebanon has adhered to more then 75% of these conditions, the other parts were not in the immediate control of the Lebanese government. Israel is in violation of over 65 UN Security Council Resolutions, some of them go back to as far as 1948.

I am gravely concerned about the loss of lives on both sides. I condemn all attacks on civilians, and call for the release of prisoners held on all sides in this conflict. But while Hezbollah violated international law by attacking Israel and capturing their soldiers, Israel's disproportionate response is clearly an act of collective punishment against the Lebanese population -- a serious violation of international law.

While the world is crying out for global intervention to stop the bloodshed, I was not surprised one bit by the response from the American government. Instead of using its influence on Israel to stop the devastating attacks on the Lebanese population, it has supported once again such attacks. And instead of rallying the international community to call for an immediate cease-fire to stop further bloodshed, it blocked all UN efforts to call for an immediate cease-fire.

As I stand watching the world over the years, I can’t help but think how war never brought peace to humanity, I can’t help but think that war is nothing more then a greedy beast, a grim reaper on earth reaping the very lively hood of innocent people.

What happened to negotiations and diplomacy? Why don’t the world and the international community learn from history? When will Palestine be a sovereign country? When will the Palestinians get their right of return back to their land? What did the war in Afghanistan achieve? How about the war in Iraq? Where is bin laden? And I surely don’t see any weapons of mass destruction.

Killing innocent civilians is NOT an act of self-defence. Destroying a sovereign nation is NOT a measured response Today I stand in the face of all injustice and atrocities committed in the world, today I condemn all forms of terror, today, I am truly a proud Australian, a Palestinian, Afghani, Iraqi and Lebanese, the war has to stop, this is not a war against terror, this is a war of terror.

And in the words of Robert Fisk, a reporter for the Independent in London, describing Lebanon as a Paradise Lost he says, and I quote,” They look like us, the people of Beirut. They have light-coloured skin and speak beautiful English and French. They travel the world. Their women are gorgeous and their food exquisite. But what are we saying of their fate today as the Israelis - in some of their cruellest attacks on this city and the surrounding countryside - tear them from their homes, bomb them on river bridges, cut them off from food, water and electricity? We say that they started this latest war, and we compare their appalling casualties – of more than 300 in all of Lebanon - with Israel's 29 dead, as if the figures are the same. And then, most disgraceful of all, we leave the Lebanese to their fate like diseased people and spend our time evacuating our precious foreigners while tut-tutting about Israel's "disproportionate" response to the capture of its soldiers by Hizbollah”

The Australian government has failed its nationals in Lebanon, they were left stranded. The Australian embassy was closed; many had no place to go and had no idea what to do. I want to send a clear message to our government that it’s not good enough to put Israel's military objectives ahead of the safety of our Australian citizens.

Many of our Australians were trapped in Lebanon over the last 10 days, I know some that have departed, and they explained the hardships they had to endure, the hardest of all was leaving their loved ones behind. Imagine getting on a ship or bus were your not able to take your mother, father or child with you, your very same blood, the only thing they lack is a passport to peace.

Never the less, we are here to today to find a solution, this protest has to ignite your conscience, it doesn’t end here, lobby your local politician, sleep at their door step if you have to, write letters in support of peace to the government, contact the media, raise money to aid in the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.

Now is not the time to sit in despair, its not the time to pity our nation, It is not over, it will never be over, Lebanon will be back, and we will rebuild Lebanon brick by brick just like our mothers and fathers did. May God have mercy on the souls of all the innocent people that have died on all fronts of war.

ishtom wa aasha loubnan.

Houssam Abiad - Protest Speech July 2006

Lebanese Embassy in the US

2006-07-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

I got this from the Lebanese Embassy in LA....

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Los Angeles July 18, 2006

Letter to the Lebanese Community

Due to the tragic circumstances caused by the barbaric and continuing Israeli aggression on Lebanon, and after the Lebanese Prime Minister declared Lebanon a disaster area, calling out to all organizations and countries for help and aid, the Consulate General of Lebanon in Los Angeles pleads the Lebanese community and all the associations, organizations and agencies to provide supplies and financial help to all our families in Lebanon, who are being subjected to the worst type of aggression.

Please send your donations to the following accounts at the Bank of Lebanon (Banque du Liban) in favor of the Lebanese Ministry of Finance:
Account in US Dollars: 02 700 362123
To Federal Reserve Bank of New York – New York
Bic code FRNYUS33 Routing number: 021084694
Favor Banque du Liban - Account number: 02 700 362123
Account in Lebanese Pound:
Banque du Liban – Account Number 01 700 362123

To all the groups able to offer supplies, the Higher Council of Emergency Relief is in dire and urgent need of the following:

Food and Supplies:
Milk + Diapers + Baby Formula and food
Canned meat, jams, sugar, rice, various grains
Cooking utensils (pots, pans, kitchen utensils)
Medication:
Medicine: Diarrhea, Antibiotics, Analgesics (pain killers)
Medication for the elderly: Chronic diseases (heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure and others) and skin diseases.
Tranquilizers, Chlorine for sanitizing water, sanitized surgical gloves, dialysis machines
Medical Refrigerators
Housing Equipments and Machinery:
Tents
Blankets
Electrical Generators with a power output of 5 – 10 - 20 – 30 KVA
Bulldozers and excavation equipment
Fire Fighting Equipments:
Fire fighting equipment
Fire extinguishers in varying sizes
Fire extinguishing foam
Hoses for fire trucks.
Financial Agencies:
Bank account number of the High Council for Emergency Relief at the Bank of Lebanon, Beirut: 760051114

We hope that all able members of the Lebanese Community and its religious, political and educational institutions, would head this urgent humanitarian cry for help and offer aid in assistance to the suffering and needy families in Lebanon, and support the Lebanese Government and its Institutions, so that it may be able to distribute the medical and humanitarian supplies to all those in need without delay.

Consul General
Charbel Wehbi

Seattle Lebanese Peace March

2006-07-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Seattle Lebanese Peace March Photo's

The Seattle Lebanese community in Seattle organized a peace march protesting the Israeli incursion. Around 300 showed up to protest thru a candlelight vigil in Seattle, where we had different speakers from the community come and tell their stories in public.

One speaker had just come back from Lebanon with his family and spoke of the ordeal. Another's family is still stuck there and is talking about the horrible evacuation experience. More interesting - because we're not used to such discourse - was a speech by a woman representing a jewish-israeli organization advocating peace. She and her parents are holocaust survivors, and through her organization she's actively working in Israel to denounce violence, showing how 60 years of violence in the middle-east did not resolve the problem. There was also representation from other minority groups, notably the Japanese-American Community, who feels for the Lebanese and the Arabs, and took a pledge after WWII not to stay silent when there's racial discrimnation and segregation supported or allowed by the US. Local press was present to cover the event.

Latest Pictures from Lebanon

2006-07-19T15:59:00.001-07:00

Young Israeli Girls are sending messeges on the bombs that are killing Lebanese...

http://fromisraeltolebanon.info/

Local Events in Michigan on the Lebanese Crises

2006-07-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Prayer Vigil for Lebanon – July 20, 2006
On Thursday, July 20, 2006 at 7:00 PM, the Cathedral of St. Maron Maronite Church (11466 Kercheval Avenue) in Detroit will hold a Special Candlelight Service in honor of Lebanon and its people. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit: www.saintmaronchurch.com, or call 248-320-7300.

Silent Candlelight Vigil in Troy – July 21, 2006
On Friday, July 21, 2006, from 6:30 -9:30 PM, Arab American families, in coordination with the Palestine Office, ADC Michigan and the Congress of Arab American Organizations (CAAO), will hold a silent candlelight vigil on the South Lawn of the Troy City Hall (Big Beaver Road) to protest the Israeli destruction of Lebanon and Palestine, mourn the loss of innocent civilian lives and ask for an immediate ceasefire and a balanced response by the US government. For more information, call 313-945-9660.