Guantanamo has become a symbolic issue, an icon of the injustice of the system of detention which America has put in place which includes the abuses of Abu Graib and the use of torture and "harsh interrogation" by the the CIA. But Guantanamo has in fact been emptying out while detention facilities that are out of the public eye grow.

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Military justice is to justice as soy ice cream is to the dairy version. There may be a great effort made to make the two look the same, but on the first bite one knows the difference.

Every effort by the United States to set up military courts to process the detainees in Guantanamo have failed to meet the minimum procedural refinements we associate with a functioning judicial system. These courts have been given the power to deny the defense the right to view the evidence against the defendant, coerced testimony is admissible and if the court finds the detainee not guilty, the person can continue to be held and even tried again and again till a court does find him guilty. So there may be a judge, a defense lawyer and a prosecutor all meeting in a courtroom but one should not confuse this with a hall of justice.

The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would prohibit the CIA from using waterboarding in the interrogation of detainees. The bill would further limit the methods used by the CIA by requiring that agency to comply with the restrictions outlined in the armed forces field manual. It should be recalled that the military has been concerned that the use of torture in interrogations would endanger American soldiers: it would give our enemies justification for the mistreatment of captive soldiers.

Shockingly, the New York Times Reports that CIA officials destroyed the video tapes of interrogations of suspected Al-Qaida members. Seemingly they did so in fear of prosecution: they wanted to destroy any evidence that torture was used. The destruction of the tapes occured as Congress began to invesitage the use of torture by the CIA.

John McCain has experience with torture: he was held prisoner in Vietnam and his captors tried to break him by using both physical and psychological techniques. Because of his experience, he has taken a consistent position opposing torture, but other Republican Presidential hopefuls have waffled on the issue of torture saying they are opposed to torture but refusing to condemn waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other techniques forbidden in our own army.

Recently, National Public Radio did a piece on this subject, broadcasting the remarks of several candidates, including a sharp exchange between McCain and George Romney. Hear the broadcast.

Jim Besser of the New York Jewish Week, wrote a blog entry about RHR's launch of K'vod Habriot; A national Jewish human rights network. Besser is one of a few Jewish journalists concerned about the issues related to torture and has long advocated for greater involvement by the Jewish community in issues of detainee abuse and interrogation techniques.

We waited with baited breath to see what the Bush administration might accomplish at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis in the week following Thanksgiving. Now that our breath has been baited, it’s time to fish.

Of course, Israel and the Palestinians first have to negotiate a two-state solution and then Abu Mazen and Olmert have to find the political capital to sell the agreement (and not get killed or indicted).

So there I am shaving on Thanksgiving morning and Arik Ascherman's is speaking on NPR. It was NPR's Thanksgiving story about food, agricultural bounty and thanksgiving. Today's story centered on the place of the olive harvest in the culture of Palestinians; this is the season of the harvest which goes on from late October till mid-December.

Interviewees talked about the process of pressing olives for oil, the harvest meals that center on olives and the memory of olive trees that Palestinians carry with them even when they settle abroad. One of the best lines of the piece is offered by Arik talking about Palestinians and Israelis working together on the harvest, "We are offering the olive branch as a symbol of peace, once again." It's a lovely piece to listen to -- the background music is especially beautiful.

Rabbi Arthur Green has been a member of the advisory board of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America since its inception. He is one of America's most interesting and original Jewish thinkers and as Rector of the new Hebrew College Rabbinical School is training a new generation of American rabbis. To open our human rights forum, he has generously shared with us a portion of his forthcoming book on Jewish theology which deals with our responsibility to honor each human being as the image of God. Read Art Green's message and add your comment:

Judaism’s moral voice begins with Creation. Our most essential teaching, that for the sake of which Judaism still needs to exist, is our insistence that each human being is the unique image of God.

On Nov. 20, PBS aired a frontline report on Darfur. It contains an excellent summary of the history of Darfur, how the current tragedy unfolded, and numerous interviews with victims who tell their story. The running theme is the failure of the international community to act effectively. The material is heart rending but will surely motivate viewers to work harder at pressuring our government and the international community to take action to end this crisis. You can connect to PBS, and watch the video or read the text of the interviews and summaries of the findings.

Of all the candidates running for President, it is John McCain who has personally experienced torture. Although all the Republican candidates have endorsed President Bush’s position giving the CIA a free hand in interrogation techniques, it is McCain who has singly opposed it.