can't stop now

And so the war criminals finally call for a ceasefire.
...If only this were cause for celebration.
Instead, it is cause for nothing more than a moment of relief.
Yes, I am glad that perhaps tomorrow morning, I will not have to wake up and check the rising death count...Or perhaps I will. Just in case. Because, Ehud Olmert, I don't trust you.
What are the terms of this "unilateral" ceasefire?
Well
(1) Israeli troops will remain in Gaza
(2) The blockade of Gaza will continue
(3) A threat to continue the war if another rocket is fired
...So of course it's unilateral. This way, it's all on their terms.

In many ways, this is the most difficult part about organizing in solidarity with Palestine. I imagine it is far more difficult for those who actually live there. "Normal" consists of a list of atrocities that become mundane. "Normal" means occupation, blockade, & the looming threat of all out war. Again. "Normal" means you have only a moment to mourn before something else happens, someone else is killed. "Normal" means you are faced with a choice: Resist and face massive destruction OR Don't Resist and live in an occupied prison with little or no access to resources such as food, electricity, & medicine. In other words...still massive destruction...just slower.

A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about "cautious optimism." Even Al Jazeera was using that term (that's where I got it). Now, the best I can manage is "cautious relief." The ceasefire will give us time to mourn, if it gives us time at all, and this is good. If it lasts, it will give us time to organize, hopefully in sustainable ways...like boycott, divestment, and sanctions, for example.
When a war ends, the victor/victimizer celebrates. And what of the victims? The death count - - of Palestinians- - is 1,230. And of Israelis? 12. 9 of whom were soldiers. How can they even pretend that this is justified? Before the "ceasefire" was declared, the Israelis shelled another UN school today. They have what they call "smart weapons." They are not bombing schools by mistake. And as for civilian areas, as many people have pointed out, there are no non-civilian areas in Gaza; it is a crowded prison, surrounded by an apartheid wall. This is 'business as usual.' This has all been 'business as usual.'

So, now, even if israel doesn't back out of it's ceasefire - I urge everyone to remember that if we don't keep organizing...boycott, divestment and sanctions, ongoing support for the Palestinian people, more marches, lobby days, etc...this WILL happen again. This has been happening since before 1948...
We can't continue to be surprised every time!
And we can't just be appalled every time; we need to be appalled ALL the time.

And as for "not in our name," I feel even more strongly now, after giving it a lot of thought, that this is not the right slogan. Because it is in our name. Because until we build ourselves up big enough, strong enough, brave enough to truly make it STOP it will be in our name. So we can't stop now. Not just Jews, but everyone in the US...We can't stop now.