[[{"content_id":"521","domain_id":"0","lang_id":"en","portal_id":"2","owner_id":"29","user_id":"1","view_accesslevel_id":"0","edit_accesslevel_id":"0","delete_accesslevel_id":"0","editor_id":"0","content_title":"Commemorating Palestinian Land Day","content_number":"0","content_date_event":"2013-05-29 11:48:12","content_summary":"On March 30, Palestinians worldwide observed Land Day.","content_summary_fill":"0","content_body":"Stephen Lendman: On March 30, Palestinians worldwide observed Land Day. They've done so since 1976.\r\n\r\n\tNationwide protests and general strike action erupted. At issue was Israel's land confiscation policy and brutal occupation harshness. \r\n\r\n\tIn early 1975, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin announced plans to Judaize the Galilee. "Developing the Galilee," he called it. \r\n\r\n\tHe wanted to transform it into a majority Jewish region, construct eight industrial estates, and develop its economy exclusively for Jews. Doing so required dispossessing Arab citizens.\r\n\r\n\tIn 1976, General Yisrael Koenig headed Israel's northern region. In March, he prepared a secret report. It recommended encouraging Jewish immigrants. He wanted them populating the Galilee and Negev regions. He wanted Israeli Arabs removed to accommodate them.\r\n\r\n\tConfiscating 60,000 dunums of Arab-owned Galilee land was planned. Rabin claimed doing so was for "security and settlement purposes."\r\n\r\n\tDemonstrations were declared illegal. Israeli Arabs ignored threats. They rallied. Thousands of security forces confronted them. They did so violently. Six Palestinians died. Dozens more were injured. Hundreds were arrested. \r\n\r\n\tPolice states operate that way. Israel's one of the worst.\r\n\r\n\tLand Day 1976 was special. Israeli Arabs resisted. They did so en masse for the first time. They protested internal colonization. They showed political awareness. They defied Israeli ruthlessness. They did so courageously. They showed they'd no longer be ignored.\r\n\r\n\tIn 1948, Israel stole 78% of Palestine. In 1967, they took the rest. The Israeli\/Palestinian conflict remains the longest unresolved one of our time.\r\n\r\n\tIsraeli Arabs comprise 20% of Israel's population. They're treated like fifth column threats. From 1948 - 1966, they lived under military rule. It applied only to them. They're Israeli citizens. It didn't matter.\r\n\r\n\tTheir fundamental freedoms were restricted. Many were denied. Israel prevented attempts to organize internal pan-Arab cohesion. Divide and rule reflects policy.\r\n\r\n\tSo is land confiscation. By 1993, over 80% of Arab-owned land was stolen. Today it approaches 90%. Palestinians were displaced. Jews replaced them. \r\n\r\n\tLand Day reflects Palestine's struggle. Militarized occupation is rejected. So are illegal settlements.\r\n\r\n\tLand Day matters. Israel Arab rights are spurned. Longterm occupation is illegal. Palestine's an isolated prison. State terror is official Israeli policy. The price of freedom involves resistance.\r\n\r\n\tOver a million Palestinians are Israeli citizens. They live mainly in the Little Triangle along the Green Line, the Galilee and Negev desert. They suffer hugely. Unemployment is high. Little government support compensates. Their needs are largely ignored.\r\n\r\n\tDozens of discriminatory laws harm them. Restrictive planning policies limit residential building and commercial development. Most Arab citizens have no viable options.\r\n\r\n\tBedouin Israelis live in dozens of Negev villages. They're unrecognized. They're denied essential services. They're targeted for dispossession. Israel plans stealing their land for Jews.\r\n\r\n\tRashid Hussein (1936 - 1977) was a noted Palestinian poet. In 1959, he participated in founding the Land Movement. His poems reflected his passion.\r\n\r\n\t"With the Land" says:\r\n\r\n\t \r\n\r\n\tThe land comes near me\r\n\r\n\tdrinks from me\r\n\r\n\tleaves its orchards with me\r\n\r\n\tto become a beautiful weapon\r\n\r\n\tdefending me\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\tEven when I sleep\r\n\r\n\tthe land comes near me\r\n\r\n\tin my dream.\r\n\r\n\tI smuggle its wild thyme\r\n\r\n\tbetween exiles\r\n\r\n\tI sing its stones\r\n\r\n\tI will even sweat blood\r\n\r\n\tfrom my veins\r\n\r\n\tto drink its news\r\n\r\n\tso the land comes near me\r\n\r\n\tleaves a stone of love with me\r\n\r\n\tto defend it\r\n\r\n\tand defend me\r\n\r\n\t \r\n\r\n\tWhen I repay it\r\n\r\n\tI will embrace it a thousand times\r\n\r\n\tI will worship it a thousand times\r\n\r\n\tI will celebrate its wedding on my forehead\r\n\r\n\ton the rubble of exiles\r\n\r\n\tand the ruins of prisons\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\tI will drink from it\r\n\r\n\tIt will drink from me\r\n\r\n\tSo that the Galilee would remain\r\n\r\n\tbeauty, struggle, and love\r\n\r\n\tdefending it\r\n\r\n\tdefending me\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\tI see the land;\r\n\r\n\ta morning that will come\r\n\r\n\tand the land will come near me\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t"Without a Passport" says:\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\tI was born without a passport\r\n\r\n\tI grew up\r\n\r\n\tand saw my country\r\n\r\n\tbecome prisons\r\n\r\n\twithout a passport\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\tSo I raised a country\r\n\r\n\ta sun\r\n\r\n\tand wheat\r\n\r\n\tin every house\r\n\r\n\tI tended to the trees therein\r\n\r\n\tI learned how to write poetry\r\n\r\n\tto make the people of my village happy\r\n\r\n\twithout a passport\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\tI learned that he whose land is stolen\r\n\r\n\tdoes not like the rain\r\n\r\n\tIf he were ever to return to it, he will\r\n\r\n\twithout a passport\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\tBut I am tired of minds\r\n\r\n\tthat have become hotels\r\n\r\n\tfor wishes that never give birth\r\n\r\n\texcept with a passport\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\tWithout a passport\r\n\r\n\tI came to you\r\n\r\n\tand revolted against you\r\n\r\n\tso slaughter me\r\n\r\n\tperhaps I will then feel that I am dying\r\n\r\n\twithout a passport","content_html":"

\r\n\tStephen Lendman: <\/strong>On March 30, Palestinians worldwide observed Land Day. They've done so since 1976.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tNationwide protests and general strike action erupted. At issue was Israel's land confiscation policy and brutal occupation harshness. <\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tIn early 1975, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin announced plans to Judaize the Galilee. "Developing the Galilee," he called it. <\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tHe wanted to transform it into a majority Jewish region, construct eight industrial estates, and develop its economy exclusively for Jews. Doing so required dispossessing Arab citizens.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tIn 1976, General Yisrael Koenig headed Israel's northern region. In March, he prepared a secret report. It recommended encouraging Jewish immigrants. He wanted them populating the Galilee and Negev regions. He wanted Israeli Arabs removed to accommodate them.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tConfiscating 60,000 dunums of Arab-owned Galilee land was planned. Rabin claimed doing so was for "security and settlement purposes."<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tDemonstrations were declared illegal. Israeli Arabs ignored threats. They rallied. Thousands of security forces confronted them. They did so violently. Six Palestinians died. Dozens more were injured. Hundreds were arrested. <\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tPolice states operate that way. Israel's one of the worst.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tLand Day 1976 was special. Israeli Arabs resisted. They did so en masse for the first time. They protested internal colonization. They showed political awareness. They defied Israeli ruthlessness. They did so courageously. They showed they'd no longer be ignored.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tIn 1948, Israel stole 78% of Palestine. In 1967, they took the rest. The Israeli\/Palestinian conflict remains the longest unresolved one of our time.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tIsraeli Arabs comprise 20% of Israel's population. They're treated like fifth column threats. From 1948 - 1966, they lived under military rule. It applied only to them. They're Israeli citizens. It didn't matter.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tTheir fundamental freedoms were restricted. Many were denied. Israel prevented attempts to organize internal pan-Arab cohesion. Divide and rule reflects policy.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tSo is land confiscation. By 1993, over 80% of Arab-owned land was stolen. Today it approaches 90%. Palestinians were displaced. Jews replaced them. <\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tLand Day reflects Palestine's struggle. Militarized occupation is rejected. So are illegal settlements.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tLand Day matters. Israel Arab rights are spurned. Longterm occupation is illegal. Palestine's an isolated prison. State terror is official Israeli policy. The price of freedom involves resistance.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tOver a million Palestinians are Israeli citizens. They live mainly in the Little Triangle along the Green Line, the Galilee and Negev desert. They suffer hugely. Unemployment is high. Little government support compensates. Their needs are largely ignored.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tDozens of discriminatory laws harm them. Restrictive planning policies limit residential building and commercial development. Most Arab citizens have no viable options.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tBedouin Israelis live in dozens of Negev villages. They're unrecognized. They're denied essential services. They're targeted for dispossession. Israel plans stealing their land for Jews.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tRashid Hussein (1936 - 1977) was a noted Palestinian poet. In 1959, he participated in founding the Land Movement. His poems reflected his passion.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t"With the Land" says:<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t <\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tThe land comes near me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tdrinks from me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tleaves its orchards with me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tto become a beautiful weapon<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tdefending me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\tEven when I sleep<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tthe land comes near me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tin my dream.<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI smuggle its wild thyme<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tbetween exiles<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI sing its stones<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI will even sweat blood<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tfrom my veins<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tto drink its news<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tso the land comes near me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tleaves a stone of love with me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tto defend it<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tand defend me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t <\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tWhen I repay it<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI will embrace it a thousand times<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI will worship it a thousand times<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI will celebrate its wedding on my forehead<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\ton the rubble of exiles<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tand the ruins of prisons<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\tI will drink from it<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tIt will drink from me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tSo that the Galilee would remain<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tbeauty, struggle, and love<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tdefending it<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tdefending me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\tI see the land;<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\ta morning that will come<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tand the land will come near me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\t"Without a Passport" says:<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\tI was born without a passport<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI grew up<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tand saw my country<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tbecome prisons<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\twithout a passport<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\tSo I raised a country<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\ta sun<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tand wheat<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tin every house<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI tended to the trees therein<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI learned how to write poetry<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tto make the people of my village happy<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\twithout a passport<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\tI learned that he whose land is stolen<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tdoes not like the rain<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tIf he were ever to return to it, he will<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\twithout a passport<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\tBut I am tired of minds<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tthat have become hotels<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tfor wishes that never give birth<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\texcept with a passport<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\tWithout a passport<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tI came to you<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tand revolted against you<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tso slaughter me<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tperhaps I will then feel that I am dying<\/font><\/p>\r\n

\r\n\twithout a passport<\/font><\/p>","content_source":null,"content_url":null,"content_columns":"0","content_date_start":"2013-05-29 11:48:12","content_date_finish":"2013-05-29 11:48:12","content_date_register":"2013-05-29 11:48:12","content_date_last_edit":"0000-00-00 00:00:00","content_show_img":"1","content_show_details":"1","content_show_related_img":"1","content_show_slider":"1","content_show_title_slider":"1","content_comment":"0","content_score":"0","content_recorded":"0","content_confirmed":"1","content_status":"1","content_kind":"0","old_id":"505","tag_id":null,"tag_word":null,"tag_service":null,"tag_total":null,"tag_soundex":null,"attach_token":"1005335282","attach_date_register":"2013-05-29 11:49:25","attach_id":"2597","attach_file_ext":"jpg","attach_file_header":"image\/jpeg","attach_img_type":"2","attach_img_width":"120","attach_img_height":"77","attach_file_media":"1","attach_show_watermark":"0","score_average":null,"score_count":null,"score_date_last":null,"visit_count":"290","visit_date_last":"2025-05-10 16:48:21","attach_title":"Commemorating Palestinian Land Day","node_title":"Commentaries","ot_node_left_right":"[{\"node_id\":134, \"left\":25, \"right\":26}]"}]]