Damn those Palestinians! Can't they learn to share?

If those Palestinians just learn to share their land with the Israelis, then they will get piece; a little piece of their historic land.

Challenging a culture of hate, even on T-shirts

A shocking Haaretz article on the culture of hatred that exists in the Israeli Army.

Source: Haaretz Newspaper

"A T-shirt for infantry snipers bears the inscription "Better use Durex," next to a picture of a dead Palestinian baby, with his weeping mother and a teddy bear beside him. A sharpshooter's T-shirt from the Givati Brigade's Shaked battalion shows a pregnant Palestinian woman with a bull's-eye superimposed on her belly, with the slogan, in English, "1 shot, 2 kills." A "graduation" shirt for those who have completed another snipers course depicts a Palestinian baby, who grows into a combative boy and then an armed adult, with the inscription, "No matter how it begins, we'll put an end to it."..."


Translation:
'Every Arab mother must know that the fate of her son is in my hands' (photo: Nir Kafri)

Translation:
From left: "The smaller, the tougher"; "Only God forgives"

Read more at:

IDF T-Shirts Boast of Killing Babies, Pregnant Women, Sodomizing Hamas Leaders

CNN: FBI planting spies in U.S. mosques, Muslim groups say

By Eliott C. McLaughlin

CNN, 3/20/2009

(CNN) -- Ten U.S. Muslim organizations threatened this week to cease working with the FBI, citing "McCarthy-era tactics" by the agency, including efforts to covertly infiltrate California mosques.

The groups claim the FBI has sent undercover agents posing as worshippers into mosques, pressured Muslims to become informants, labeled civil rights advocates as criminals and spread misinformation.

The FBI declined to comment on specific allegations but called the proposed move unproductive.

"Limiting honest dialogue, especially when complex issues are on the table, is generally not an effective advocacy strategy," spokesman John Miller said in a statement. "The FBI has continued our outreach efforts, across the board, with a number of concerned groups and where we agree -- or disagree -- most have concluded the best results are achieved through continued conversation. We believe that, too."

[My note: The problem is that many in the Muslim community no longer feel confident that the FBI is pursuing an honest dialogue with the Muslim community. This was the result of confirmed reports that, while the Muslim community engaged in honest partnership building and dialogue with the FBI for eight years, the FBI was paying convicted felons to "inflitrate" mosques to radicalize Muslim youths and instigate talks about terrorism action. Integrity and honesty are the foundation of any relationship.]

The group's statement, dated Tuesday, said several incidents of the FBI "targeting Muslim Americans lead us to consider suspending ongoing outreach efforts."

The statement was issued by the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections, whose director, Agha Saeed, couldn't immediately comment because of a family emergency.

The FBI has sent "agents provocateur" into California mosques, according to the statement, which says an FBI agent threatened to make one mosque member's life a "living hell" if he did not become an informant.

Though the statement does not name the mosque member, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said last month it would seek an investigation into the February 21 arrest of Ahmadullah Niazi, an Afghanistan native.

"Mr. Niazi previously reported to [CAIR's Los Angeles office] and other community members that, during a raid of a friend's house, an FBI agent urged Mr. Niazi to work with the agency, saying that if he refused to cooperate his life would be made a 'living hell,' " a news release said.

Niazi, a member of the Islamic Center of Irvine, told CAIR his arrest was retaliation for his refusal, the release said.

The FBI directed questions about Niazi's arrest to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, California, which declined comment.

Niazi, 34, was indicted last month on charges of perjury, procuring naturalization unlawfully, using a passport procured by fraud and making false statements. A search warrant for Niazi's Tustin, California, home said Niazi became a naturalized citizen in 2004 and made false statements about his past aliases and international travel.

He also made false statements about contact with his brother-in-law Amin ul-Haq, the indictment said. Ul-Haq is said to be Osama bin Laden's security coordinator and has been labeled a "specially designated global terrorist" by the U.S. government, the indictment said.

An FBI agent said in open court that Niazi also had discussed terrorist plots with an undercover informant, according to media reports. Niazi has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

CAIR's problems with the FBI began before Niazi's arrest. Last year, the FBI discontinued its "formal contact" with CAIR.

The Tuesday statement said the FBI unjustly designated CAIR and other organizations as "unindicted co-conspirators" in the Holy Land Foundation case. A jury convicted Holy Land Foundation leaders last year of conspiring to support terrorism and launder money for a terrorist group.

"Making this unjust designation public violates the Justice Department's own guidelines and wrongly implies that those listed are somehow involved in criminal activity," the statement said.

The FBI's Miller declined to comment on specifics, but said the FBI wants to avoid "formally constructed partnerships" with CAIR.

"Our concerns relate to a number of distinct narrow issues specific to CAIR and its national leadership," Miller said.

Before the FBI severed formal ties, CAIR officials had met with the FBI to discuss hate crimes targeting Muslims. On occasion, CAIR offered assistance in investigations. The group also held training sessions for FBI agents on Islamic culture and ways to improve interactions with the Muslim community.

CAIR this week called the FBI allegations a "campaign of smears and misinformation," a remnant of the Bush administration.

"It is not surprising that we would be targeted in a purely political move by those in the previous administration who sought to prevent us from defending the civil rights of American Muslims," said a statement from the group's national communications director, Ibrahim Hooper.

Tuesday's group statement also mentioned "a flourishing of anti-Muslim activity" during the previous administration and expressed fear that "counterintelligence programs are quelling lawful dissent."

Unless the FBI affords fair treatment to all mosques, Muslims and Muslim groups, the statement said, Muslims should consider suspending ties to the agency.

"This possible suspension, of course, would in no way affect our unshakable duty to report crimes or threats of violence to our nation," it said.

UN envoy: Gaza op seems to be war crime of greatest magnitude

_{Haaretz Newspaper, 3/19/2009}

A United Nations human rights investigator said on Thursday that Israel's offensive against Hamas in densely populated Gaza appeared to constitute a war crime of the "greatest magnitude."

Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the Geneva Conventions required warring forces to distinguish between military targets and surrounding civilians.

"If it is not possible to do so, then launching the attacks is inherently unlawful and would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law," Falk said.

"On the basis of the preliminary evidence available, there is reason to reach this conclusion," he wrote in an annual report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Falk called for an independent experts group to be set up to probe possible war crimes committed by both Israeli forces and Hamas.

Violations included Israel's alleged "targeting of schools, mosques and ambulances" during the December 27-January 18 offensive and its use of weapons including white phosphorus, as well as Hamas firing of rockets at civilian targets in southern Israel.

Falk said that Israel's blockade of the coastal strip of 1.5 million people violated the Geneva Conventions, which he said suggested further war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.

The aggression was not legally justified and may represent a "crime against peace" - a principle established at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi criminals, according to the American law professor who serves as the Human Rights Council's independent investigator.

He further suggested that the Security Council might set up an ad hoc criminal tribunal to establish accountability for war crimes in Gaza, noting Israel has not signed the Rome statutes establishing the International Criminal Court.

Israeli soldiers admit killing Palestinian civilians

Not that any one of us should be surprised by this news.

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IDF in Gaza: Killing civilians, vandalism, and lax rules of engagement

_{By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
3/19/2009}

During Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property, say soldiers who fought in the offensive.

The soldiers are graduates of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory course at Oranim Academic College in Tivon. Some of their statements made on Feb. 13 will appear Thursday and Friday in Haaretz. Dozens of graduates of the course who took part in the discussion fought in the Gaza operation.

The speakers included combat pilots and infantry soldiers. Their testimony runs counter to the Israel Defense Forces' claims that Israeli troops observed a high level of moral behavior during the operation. The session's transcript was published this week in the newsletter for the course's graduates.

The testimonies include a description by an infantry squad leader of an incident where an IDF sharpshooter mistakenly shot a Palestinian mother and her two children. "There was a house with a family inside .... We put them in a room. Later we left the house and another platoon entered it, and a few days after that there was an order to release the family. They had set up positions upstairs. There was a sniper position on the roof," the soldier said.

"The platoon commander let the family go and told them to go to the right. One mother and her two children didn't understand and went to the left, but they forgot to tell the sharpshooter on the roof they had let them go and it was okay, and he should hold his fire and he ... he did what he was supposed to, like he was following his orders."

According to the squad leader: "The sharpshooter saw a woman and children approaching him, closer than the lines he was told no one should pass. He shot them straight away. In any case, what happened is that in the end he killed them.

"I don't think he felt too bad about it, because after all, as far as he was concerned, he did his job according to the orders he was given. And the atmosphere in general, from what I understood from most of my men who I talked to ... I don't know how to describe it .... The lives of Palestinians, let's say, is something very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers. So as far as they are concerned they can justify it that way," he said.

Another squad leader from the same brigade told of an incident where the company commander ordered that an elderly Palestinian woman be shot and killed; she was walking on a road about 100 meters from a house the company had commandeered.

The squad leader said he argued with his commander over the permissive rules of engagement that allowed the clearing out of houses by shooting without warning the residents beforehand. After the orders were changed, the squad leader's soldiers complained that "we should kill everyone there [in the center of Gaza]. Everyone there is a terrorist."

The squad leader said: "You do not get the impression from the officers that there is any logic to it, but they won't say anything. To write 'death to the Arabs' on the walls, to take family pictures and spit on them, just because you can. I think this is the main thing: To understand how much the IDF has fallen in the realm of ethics, really. It's what I'll remember the most."

More soldiers' testimonies will be published in Haaretz over the coming days.

CAIR-CA & MAS Freedom Support Employee Free Choice Act

CAIR-CA and MAS Freedom Join IWJ and other Groups in Support of Employee Free Choice Act

(LOS ANGELES, CA, 3/17/09) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations-California (CAIR-CA) and the Muslim American Society's MAS Freedom (MASF) join Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) in support of the Employee Free Choice Act, which was introduced in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate last week.

In a joint statement, MAS Freedom Executive Director Mahdi Bray and CAIR-Los Angeles Executive Director Hussam Ayloush, both national board members with IWJ, said:

"Workers who demand the right to their free association with labor unions operate not only within the parameters of American law, but also within the boundaries of the Islamic concept of justice."

READ FULL STATEMENT HERE: An Islamic Perspective in Support of the Employee Free Choice Act (scroll down to see the Islamic Perspective on the issue)

SEE ALSO: Union Legislation Drive Begins in Congress (New York Times blog)

The Employee Free Choice Act is expected to play a critical role in improving the lives of poor and working class families by giving them the opportunity to negotiate their own economic security. The Act provides workers an opportunity to form unions through card checks or secret ballot elections. Under the current law, management has the power to decide whether to recognize a union through card checks or secret ballot elections, often times intimidating workers through the election process.

SEE: Clash Over Labor-Rights Bill Appears Likely (Washington Post)

"For Muslims, justice is an integral and indispensable part of all human relationships, including those within the workplace, and between employers and workers. This concept of justice means fairness, balance, and reciprocal respect for the dignity and rights of owners, managers, and employees. One of these rights is the right of free association for the protection of the dignity and economic well-being of working people."

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be polite and respectful)

1.You can take action now by calling Congress and letting them know you support the Employee Free Choice Act. Call the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask them to transfer you to your Representative and both State Senators.

For More Information on EFCA please visit our websites and blog

www.TheTruthAboutEFCA.Org

http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org

http://efcanow.blogspot.com/

http://efcaunionbustingclub.blogspot.com/

http://www.FreeChoiceActNow.Org

http://www.LaborUnionResources.Org

Bashing Muslims promotes fear for all

Bashing Muslims promotes fear for all

Hussam Ayloush
Special to The Desert Sun
March 18, 2009

In a post-Sept. 11 America, inciting Islamophobia and attempting to marginalize Muslims is a lucrative business. Extremists like Steven Emerson seek to polarize our nation and world to continue profiting from the industry of fear.

Emerson uses methods of distortion, exaggeration and outright falsehood to demonize Muslims and urge fellow Americans to fear Islam.

He borrows terminology and tactics once employed by Nazi Germany to justify anti- Semitic hate to help create similar hatred of American Muslims in America.

In his talk, titled “The Islamic Threat,” Emerson is quoted by The Desert Sun as saying that “Islam's ‘leadership and organizational superstructure' threaten Western values” and that (radical) Muslims “want to conquer the United States. They want to conquer Europe.”

Try replacing the word “Islam” or “Muslims” with the word “Jews,” “Latinos,” “Catholics” or “blacks” in his quotes and note how repulsive and hateful those comments sound. So, why have we become de-sensitized to anti- Muslim bigotry?

Why are agenda-driven propagandists such as Emerson allowed to disregard the more than 1 billion peaceful Muslims who are hard-working, family-oriented people seeking a better life for their children? Why are the positive contributions of 6 million to 7 million American Muslims substituted with guilt by association and fear-mongering that places the local Muslim community at risk of discrimination and hate crimes?

True Islamophobe

A leading national media watch group, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, listed Emerson as one of the top 12 Islamophobes in America. These Islamophobes, together, “form a network that teaches Americans to see Islam in fearful terms and their Muslim neighbors as suspects,” (www.smearcasting.com).

It is no wonder Emerson attempts to marginalize American Muslims and their leading organizations and label them as terrorist-sympathizers. It is puzzling that Emerson gets to promote his bigotry, unchallenged, at the invitation of an esteemed institution such as the World Affairs Council or in the pages of The Desert Sun.

CAIR is one of the most respected Muslim advocacy organizations in America. We work closely with our nation's interfaith leaders, elected officials, media professionals and law enforcement agencies to provide them with the Muslim community's perspective on issues varying from national security to civil rights and to promote tolerance and mutual understanding.

CAIR and the Muslim community repeatedly and unequivocally condemn all forms of terrorism because Islam teaches us to value life - every life.

Emerson is entitled to free speech, including hate speech.

But residents of the desert cities deserved better than hate-mongering.

As our country and world face the challenges of polarization, extremism and terrorism, we need voices of understanding, peace and moderation from all faith communities.

Hussam Ayloush is executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greater Los Angeles Area office. Reach him at hayloush@cair.com.

U.S. Muslim Coalition Considers Suspending Relations with FBI

Move comes following incidents of FBI targeting mosques, Muslim groups


(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/17/2009) – A coalition of major national Islamic organizations today announced that it is considering suspending outreach relations with the FBI, citing recent incidents in which American mosques and Muslim groups have been targeted.

In a statement, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), said:

Muslim communities throughout the United States have made significant advances in promoting and contributing to a fair, free and pluralistic society.

Through civil rights advocacy, civic and political engagement, and the promotion of dialogue with interfaith leaders and law enforcement agencies, Muslim Americans continue to be a positive and stabilizing force in keeping our nation safe and secure from acts of violence and foreign threats.

Despite fear-mongering by a vocal minority, Muslim Americans are natural allies of law enforcement agencies in ensuring the wellbeing of our nation. Muslims are law-abiding and productive citizens who uphold the democratic principles of freedom, equality and justice.

Yet recent incidents targeting American Muslims lead us to consider suspending ongoing outreach efforts with the FBI.

In California, the FBI sent a convicted criminal to pose as an agents provocateurs in several of that state’s mosques. An FBI agent allegedly told one of the mosque attendees that the agency would make his life a "living hell" if he did not become an informant.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) wrote in a recent statement, headlined “FBI Losing Partnership with American Muslim Community” - “Trust is the cornerstone of any partnership between law enforcement and communities. It can only be established and maintained through clear and open communication. Without this, trust is eroded and suspicions arise on all sides. This clearly does not serve anyone's interests…It is now up to the FBI and law enforcement agencies to re-engage with the Muslim American community, and re-build trust and respect.”

See: FBI Losing Partnership with American Muslim Community

http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=793

Early last fall, the FBI began a disengagement campaign in its relations with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest and most respected Muslim civil rights organization. The FBI suspended contacts with CAIR pending the resolution of unspecified “issues.”

In response, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, an umbrella organization of many Muslim groups, suspended outreach to the FBI in February. The council’s letter to the FBI stated in part:

“Our commitment to ensuring the rights, interests, and prosperity of American Muslims and all Americans is unconditional. We hope the FBI will have the foresight to restore its relationship with such a vital link to the American Muslim community.”

See: http://www.shuracouncil.org/images/special/onlineDocs/Shura-DOJ_Re_CAIR_Feb2009.pdf

We believe the FBI’s unjustified actions are based on the May 2007 designation of some 300 groups and individuals, including several major American Muslim groups such as CAIR, the Islamic society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), as “unindicted co-conspirators” (UCC) in conjunction with the Holy Land Foundation trial in Dallas, Texas.

Making this unjust designation public violates the Justice Department’s own guidelines and wrongly implies that those listed are somehow involved in criminal activity.

Bias and faulty premises dominated post-9/11 law enforcement analysis of the Muslim community and the threat assessment to national security. The waning days of the previous administration witnessed a flourishing of anti-Muslim activity.

There is even inter-agency information being disseminated that claims civil rights advocacy is part of a Muslim conspiracy to implement Shari’a law in order to destroy the United States. Recent government actions seemed to be based on this bizarre premise.

These McCarthy-era tactics are detrimental to a free society.

The credibility of all Muslim organizations who maintain ties to the FBI that do not react decisively is undermined in the eyes of the community. Our fear is that counter-intelligence programs are quelling lawful dissent.

What is most frightening is that FBI abuses are no longer covert, and are slowly being integrated into the already expansive laws regulating law enforcement activity.

Internationally, in light of President Obama’s initiative of dialogue with the Muslim world, such actions negatively impact U.S. interests.

If the FBI does not accord fair and equitable treatment to every American Muslim organization, including CAIR, ISNA and NAIT, then Muslim organizations, mosques and individuals will have no choice but to consider suspending all outreach activities with FBI offices, agents and other personnel. This possible suspension, of course, would in no way affect our unshakable duty to report crimes or threats of violence to our nation.

We call on the FBI to reassess its positions on profiling and the use of informants as agents provocateurs within the Muslim communities. We further request objective evaluation of the sources of information and analysis utilized to formulate decisions.

Notwithstanding such requests, we call on Muslim organizations and individuals to petition their elected representatives to hold hearings to address these grave matters of concern to the Muslim community.

We fully expect that the President’s calls for inclusion will not be derailed by irresponsible elements in and outside of government fomenting anti-Muslim bias in this great nation.

- END -

Signatories to this statement include:

1. American Muslim Alliance (AMA)
2. American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)
3. Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
4. Islamic Educational Center of Orange County (IEC)
5. Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
6. Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA)
7. MAS Freedom (MASF)
8. Muslim Student Association-National (MSA-N)
9. Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA)
10. United Muslims of America (UMA)

To add your organization, mosque or Islamic center as a signatory to this statement, e-mail: bestusa80@hotmail.com

Surprise! Surprise! Under Bush, the CIA practiced torture!

As if anyone had any doubts, the Red Cross concluded that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives "constituted torture". Of course, one should also consider the CIA's version of the story, except that the CIA conveniently destroyed 92 videotapes of its interrogations of detainees.

The use of torture is undoubtedly a form of terrorism, regardless who practices it.


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Red Cross Described 'Torture' at CIA Jails
Secret Report Implies That U.S. Violated International Law
By Joby Warrick, Peter Finn and Julie Tate
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, March 16, 2009

The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives "constituted torture," a finding that strongly implied that CIA interrogation methods violated international law, according to newly published excerpts from the long-concealed 2007 document.

The report, an account alleging physical and psychological brutality inside CIA "black site" prisons, also states that some U.S. practices amounted to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." Such maltreatment of detainees is expressly prohibited by the Geneva Conventions.

The findings were based on an investigation by ICRC officials, who were granted exclusive access to the CIA's "high-value" detainees after they were transferred in 2006 to the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The 14 detainees, who had been kept in isolation in CIA prisons overseas, gave remarkably uniform accounts of abuse that included beatings, sleep deprivation, extreme temperatures and, in some cases, waterboarding, or simulating drowning...

Many of the details of alleged mistreatment at CIA prisons had been reported previously, but the ICRC report is the most authoritative account and the first to use the word "torture" in a legal context...

"On a daily basis . . . a collar was looped around my neck and then used to slam me against the walls of the interrogation room," the report quotes detainee Tawfiq bin Attash, also known as Walid Muhammad bin Attash, as saying. Later, he said, he was wrapped in a plastic sheet while cold water was "poured onto my body with buckets." He added: "I would be wrapped inside the sheet with cold water for several minutes. Then I would be taken for interrogation."..

President George W. Bush acknowledged the use of coercive interrogation tactics on senior al-Qaeda captives detained by the CIA in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but he insisted that the measures complied with U.S. and international law. Former CIA director Michael V. Hayden confirmed last year that the measures included the use of waterboarding on three captives before 2003.

President Obama outlawed such practices within hours of his inauguration in January. But Obama has expressed reluctance to conduct a legal inquiry into the CIA's policies.

The report gives a graphic account of the treatment of Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein, better known as Abu Zubaida, a Saudi-born Palestinian who was the first alleged senior al-Qaeda operative seized after Sept. 11 -- a characterization of his role that is disputed by his attorneys, who describe him as having a different philosophy of jihad than bin Laden.

Abu Zubaida was severely wounded during a shootout in March 2002 at a safe house he ran in Faisalabad, Pakistan, and survived thanks to CIA-arranged medical care, including multiple surgeries. After he recovered, Abu Zubaida describes being shackled to a chair at the feet and hands for two to three weeks in a cold room with "loud, shouting type music" blaring constantly, according to the ICRC report. He said that he was questioned two to three hours a day and that water was sprayed in his face if he fell asleep.

At some point -- the timing is unclear from the New York Review of Books report -- Abu Zubaida's treatment became harsher. In July 2002, administration lawyers approved more aggressive techniques.

Abu Zubaida said interrogators wrapped a towel around his neck and slammed him into a plywood wall mounted in his cell. He was also repeatedly slapped in the face, he said. After the beatings, he was placed in coffinlike wooden boxes in which he was forced to crouch, with no light and a restricted air supply, he said.

"The stress on my legs held in this position meant my wounds both in my leg and stomach became very painful," he told the ICRC.

After he was removed from a small box, he said, he was strapped to what looked like a hospital bed and waterboarded. "A black cloth was then placed over my face and the interrogators used a mineral bottle to pour water on the cloth so that I could not breathe," Abu Zubaida said.

After breaks to allow him to recover, the waterboarding continued.

"I struggled against the straps, trying to breathe, but it was hopeless," he said. "I thought I was going to die."

In a federal court filing, Abu Zubaida's attorneys said he "has suffered approximately 175 seizures that appear to be directly related to his extensive torture -- particularly damage to Petitioner's head that was the result of beatings sustained at the hands of CIA interrogators and exacerbated by his lengthy isolation."...

Danner said the organization's use of the word "torture" has important legal implications.

"It could not be more important that the ICRC explicitly uses the words 'torture' and 'cruel and degrading,' " Danner said in a telephone interview. "The ICRC is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, and when it uses those words, they have the force of law."

He discounted the possibility that the detainees fabricated or embellished their stories, noting that the accounts overlap "in minute detail," even though the detainees were kept in isolation at different locations...

Day of Remembrance 2009 at Japanese American National Museum

The Day of Remembrance is held each year to commemorate President Franklin Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, which authorized the unconstitutional forced removal of over 120,000 Japanese Americans from the west coast and Hawaii during World War II.

"Forging Alliances: Connecting Nikkei to Current Immigration" was the theme for the 2009 Day of Remembrance held at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. The event was organized by NCRR (Nikkei for Civil RIghts & Redress), JACL Pacific Southwest District, and JANM.

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Below is a summary prepared by NCRR:

An Emotional Day of Remembrance

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which authorized the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. On Saturday, February 21st, the 21 annual Day of Remembrance was held at the Japanese American National Museum. This year was focused on the topic of immigration with the theme, Forging Alliances: Connecting Nikkei to Current Immigration.

Introduction to the museum and the event was given by JANM President and CEO, Akemi Kikumura Yano, co- MC along with Kene Kubo. Yano said “this event is about learning from the past to inform the future. This could happen to anyone.” Richard Katsuda, co-chair of Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress presented the organization’s Fighting Spirit award to Lillian Nakano, a founding member of the organization. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend the event due to health issues, but was accepted by her son, Erich Nakano who appeared on stage with his two children.

Professor Roger Daniels, the Charles Phelps Taft Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Cincinnati, was the keynote speaker. He offered an in depth history of the Japanese American internment, including the Issei and Nisei experience, the aftermath following their release, and the efforts of subsequent generations in the campaign for redress. He also addressed the parallel events that followed the internment that affected other ethnic groups in times of “internal security emergencies.”

The program also featured the personal stories of several Issei that reflected the hardships and discrimination they faced. Students from UCLA (CAPSA) shared their personal experiences as recent immigrants and the obstacles they face in seeking higher education. A special performance by hip-hop artist Prophet was electrifying.

Several organizations from the Southern California area were present; the Campaign for Justice, representing the Japanese Latin Americans for redress equity ; UCLA CAPSA and UCLA IDEAS for the DREAM Act campaign; the Council on American-Islamic Relations for the Muslim American community. The Southern California Executive Director of CAIR, Hussam Ayloush, delivered a moving thanks for the support of the Japanese American community in the aftermath of 9/11.

The ceremony closed with an energetic performance by Progressive Taiko.