But we are also angry that these are the same media outlets that are ignoring a global threat that is killing millions (perhaps billions) of animals: global climate change. Here in Palestine under Israeli colonial occupation temperatures are 5-7 degrees above their norms.

The story that captured media attention around the world especially in
western countries was the killing of "Cecil" the Lion by a western Dentist.
Locally, the story most making the news was the killing of a local hyena by
ignorant superstitious locals . As biologists and conservationists here
working to protect our fauna and flora, we are ofcourse very angry about
these senseless killings.  But we are also angry that these are the same
media outlets that are ignoring a global threat that is killing millions
(perhaps billions) of animals: global climate change. Here in Palestine
under Israeli colonial occupation temperatures are 5-7 degrees above their
norms. Even in our regular excursions to the fields we find many dead
animals (in one instance three newly dead tortoises and two birds in one
small field). The same media is also ignoring the senseless killings by
colonial Israeli settlers and soldiers of Palestinian children and youth.
Just in the past 18 months, over 2600 Palestinians (one third of them
children some burned alive).  And the world still ignores Israel's
stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction including hundreds of nuclear
weapons. The US congress remains under Israeli occupation and many
congressmen will come here to visit the apartheid regime and declare
allegiance to Israel. Zionists continue to kidnap and murder Palestinians
with impunity but the indirect killing they inflict on nearby populations
is even more devastating. Over one million Iraqis were killed and hundreds
of thousands of Syrians. And Egypt on behest of Zionists is ethnically
cleansing the Sinai of its population.  The fake war on terrorism like
previously the fake war on communism and war on poverty etc were intended
to hide the real reason for wars and conflict: greed and distractions from
this greed via conflicts. Conflicts are pushed by arms merchants and other
profiteers and guided by racist notions and egotistical maniacs who think
they can shape the world. And politicians continue to lie to their own
people. Even Palestinian politicians like Mr. Mahmoud Abbas regularly lie
in public pronouncements (for example on taking the information about the
child burning to international tribunals). But always we need to be
reminded of all the great and good work being done to challenge the system
(lighting candles instead of cursing the darkness).  In fact more and more
people are speaking out and even in positions of power are beginning to
realize that the trend and the status quo are dangerous even for their own
children.

Here are just some things that people are doing and that you can do
http://qumsiyeh.org/whatyoucando/ (this is now updated and with more
general applicability not just to the issue of Palestine).

We visited Bardala on the northeastern tip of the West Bank and in the
Jordan valley. It was an enlightening trip as we met with the village
council and some other farmers. The Jordan valley had 350,000 Palestinians
in 1967 and now only 70,000. Israeli colonial racists took control (theft)
of 94% of the land of the valley and the vast majority of the water
resources. Bardala has to actually now buy water from the Israeli company
Mekorot and then it is not enough. We witnessed wide scale burning in the
Jordan valley (not clear how the fires got started but it could be Israeli
settlers trying to deprive the Bedouins of grazing areas). But it is also
related to global climate change (see fires in California as a result of
drought etc).  The Palestine Museum of Natural History and the Institute of
Biodiversity and Sustainability (http://palestinenature.org) discussed with
the locals ideas of sustainability and protection of biodiversity. We took
two other field trips and we worked on our botanical garden (even though it
is very hot here).

I finished writing a solicited a review of one book and a forward to
another book. We had more visitors/visiting delegations (Scotland, USA,
France, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and locals including a local boys scout
group). Life goes on in its ups and downs, births and deaths, but we try to
have "joyful participation in the sorrows of this world". Now it is grape
season here and we harvested much from our gardens. We also had our first
harvest of honey (about 25 kilogram) and will package it soon for gifts to
our museum donors who visit us. We are ;glad that our bees are productive
and happy as our mini-reserve (a few acres of botanical garden and small
ecosystem). Please do visit: http://www.palestinenature.org/visit/
And please join our facebook page where we post pictures of our daily
activities. It is at Palestine Museum of Natural History.

I will be giving a talk at Diyar's Palestine Diaspora Conference August
10-13 in Bethlehem
http://www.diyar-consortium.org/?TemplateId=register&PageId=53&MenuId=0&Lang=1

Head to Head - Have Palestinian leaders failed their people?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5sURpOXjHA

Gaza's 'Birthplace of saints and death-yard of angels'
http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/gazas-birthplace-saints-deathyard-angels/24276

Remembering our friend Vittorio Arrigoni
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nycUm7Mxq2o who used to end his emails with
"Stay human"

Love
Mazin Qumsiyeh
Professor and Director
Palestine Museum of Natural History
Bethlehem University
Occupied Palestine
http://qumsiyeh.org
http://palestinenature.org

--

Pl see my blogs;

http://ambedkaractions.blogspot.in/

http://palashscape.blogspot.in/

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