On this eve of Obamas bold gesture to thaw the ice between the US and Cuba, declaring that the decades old policy of isolation has failed, its time the US made a similar declaration to recognize Palestine and end the Occupation! Che Guevara visited Gaza in solidarity in 1959 shortly after the Castro government took over Cuba. Last year I was invited to give a talk at a symposium on Cuba hosted by NYU and the New School, as I debated the parallels and ending of the embargo and blockade on both Cuba and Palestine... therevolutionrecodified.wordpress I was on a panel with Yoani Sanchez, the prolific Cuban human rights blogger and I asked her why Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Cuban-American Republican congresswoman supports the embargo and blockade of both Cuba & Palestine? Yoani could not give a satisfactory answer and shortly afterward the crowd in the hall erupted into a loud and hilarious protest sparring each side (pro & anti-Castro), until the security intervened! Quite a memorable moment! Who knew this day would come so soon... It turns out that Palestinian president Abbas was involved in convincing Cuban president Raul Castro to release Alan Gross, the USAID contractor accused of spying and convicted of subversion there, according to an article by Asa Winstanley in EI today: electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/hoping-unfreeze-us-aid-dollars-abbas-asked-cuba-free-accused-american-spy
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 05:43:27 +0000