9 december 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Petitioners seek to stop 'apartheid-like' ethnic segregation at ultra-Orthodox girls high schools.
By Talila Nesher
The High Court of Justice Thursday instructed Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, the Education Ministry and mayors of Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Modi'in Ilit and Betar Ilit to reply in a week to a petition demanding an end to quotas restricting Sephardi girls' admission to state-funded ultra-Orthodox girls high schools.
The petitioners, Noar Kahalacha organization and social activist Yoav Laloum, sought to stop the "apartheid-like" ethnic segregation at ultra-Orthodox girls high schools. They also asked the court to issue an interim injunction forbidding the schools to start registration for the next school year until the court hears the petition.
The petitioners, who headed the fight against ethnic segregation at the Beit Yaakov school in the West Bank settlement Immanuel in 2008, are also demanding to revoke the licenses and state funding of all the schools that discriminate against Sephardi girls.
Justice Edna Arbel said in her ruling yesterday the court will hear the petition soon.
MK Chaim Amsellem (Shas ) commended the petition. "The Education Ministry is collaborating with the schools' principals and Haredi parties to silence the problem and perpetuate the discrimination. Shas, which was formed to uproot this problem, does nothing...its leaders are afraid their children will be taken out of the Ashkenazi schools," he said.
Shas chairman MK Eli Yishai said "Shas acted and is acting to establish more high schools and other schools. Only this week the Knesset held a debate we initiated on a proposal to prevent discrimination in schools."
"The main problem is not the state funding but the moral turpitude this discriminative policy brands our society with," said prominent educator and public figure Rabbi Shai Piron, Director-General of Hakol Hinuch, the Movement for the Advancement of Education in Israel.
Mostrando postagens com marcador Haredi. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador Haredi. Mostrar todas as postagens
sexta-feira, 9 de dezembro de 2011
quarta-feira, 30 de novembro de 2011
THE ZIONIST ULTRA-ORTHODOX ARE CASHING IN THEIR I.O.U.
30 November 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Those spending their Saturdays having fun rather than defending shepherds and farmers should not be surprised if the day after, Jewish fundamentalism even invades their bedrooms.
By Amira Hass
The Haredim and Hardalim, as the non-Zionist and Zionist ultra-Orthodox are respectively known, are now cashing in their promissory note from Israeli society. Their bitterness at an ungrateful secular-nationalist public is certainly justified. For what is doing without women's singing in comparison to the direct line to God they offer us? And what are advertisements featuring men only compared to the blank check God gave all of us to be the masters of the entire Promised Land?
Haredi and Hardali Judaism sold three assets on credit to the Israel that desecrates the Sabbath and loves the charming, Arab-free views from the Galilee kibbutzim and the West Bank outposts. These are the assets that enable Israel to be indifferent to both the history that was and the history now in the making, and to live as an armed, gilded ghetto, a beloved outpost of the "developed" and "civilized" Christian West in the Muslim East.
We could have clung to the historical, secular explanations for our ingathering in this land (briefly, the "final solution" of that same civilized Christian West, which also expelled us from the countries of the Diaspora ). This would have committed us to the humanitarian and earthly values and perceptions that have emerged from every struggle against ethnic persecution and oppression. But the historical explanation would also have obliged us to admit our similarity to other colonialist movements, and to understand that what was possible in the 18th and 19th centuries in America and Australia is not possible here and now.
To escape the contradictions created by history and its lessons, we chose to buy the meta-historical explanation of our armed, fortified presence here: no more and no less than God's promise to Abraham, from whom all of us are directly descended. This promise is what permits us, in our view, to do whatever we please to the people that dwells here, the natives of this land: to expel, to concentrate, to divide, to blockade, to impoverish, to dry out, to bomb, to uproot, to dispossess.
This same divine promise grants all Jews everywhere - even those who have never set foot in Israel - more rights in this land than any Palestinian who was born here. This land is ruled by a state that refuses to be a state of its actual citizens and thinks only of potential citizens from the Diaspora.
Ethnic head-counting is second nature to this state. Thus the Haredim and Hardalim know that the second asset they are selling is beyond price: their high birthrate. In the Haredi view, this high birthrate is worth more than any military service or tax payment could ever be.
The Hardalim, in contrast, combine this with a third asset for sale: lust for battle, and for ascending the military ranks, and a willingness to "die for our country" - all of which have been on the wane, relatively speaking, among other sectors of the population. In a state that has done everything in its power over the last several decades to miss any opportunity for peace, this military enthusiasm is a vital asset - especially as good neighborly relations in this region now seem more unachievable than ever before.
Hardalim and Haredim see that most of the Israeli Jewish public has eagerly bought these inexhaustible assets, so now they are continuing down the same consistent path. The Haredim and Hardalim simply long for wholeness: the divine promise and the laws of kashrut. They are offering soldiers in the demographic warfare in exchange for the non-mixing of women and men in the army.
The problem then is not the sellers but the buyers. The secular Jews who allow or even encourage the expulsion of Arab residents of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, Al-Arakib and Safed, should not complain if tomorrow, theaters and concert halls are required to set up separate sections for the female portion of the audience. And those who spend their holy Saturdays having fun rather than going out to defend shepherds and farmers from skullcap-wearing Salafists should not be surprised if the day after, Jewish fundamentalism even invades their bedrooms.
Read this article in Hebrew: לגרש פלסטינים, ולהדיר נשים
Those spending their Saturdays having fun rather than defending shepherds and farmers should not be surprised if the day after, Jewish fundamentalism even invades their bedrooms.
By Amira Hass
The Haredim and Hardalim, as the non-Zionist and Zionist ultra-Orthodox are respectively known, are now cashing in their promissory note from Israeli society. Their bitterness at an ungrateful secular-nationalist public is certainly justified. For what is doing without women's singing in comparison to the direct line to God they offer us? And what are advertisements featuring men only compared to the blank check God gave all of us to be the masters of the entire Promised Land?
Haredi and Hardali Judaism sold three assets on credit to the Israel that desecrates the Sabbath and loves the charming, Arab-free views from the Galilee kibbutzim and the West Bank outposts. These are the assets that enable Israel to be indifferent to both the history that was and the history now in the making, and to live as an armed, gilded ghetto, a beloved outpost of the "developed" and "civilized" Christian West in the Muslim East.
We could have clung to the historical, secular explanations for our ingathering in this land (briefly, the "final solution" of that same civilized Christian West, which also expelled us from the countries of the Diaspora ). This would have committed us to the humanitarian and earthly values and perceptions that have emerged from every struggle against ethnic persecution and oppression. But the historical explanation would also have obliged us to admit our similarity to other colonialist movements, and to understand that what was possible in the 18th and 19th centuries in America and Australia is not possible here and now.
To escape the contradictions created by history and its lessons, we chose to buy the meta-historical explanation of our armed, fortified presence here: no more and no less than God's promise to Abraham, from whom all of us are directly descended. This promise is what permits us, in our view, to do whatever we please to the people that dwells here, the natives of this land: to expel, to concentrate, to divide, to blockade, to impoverish, to dry out, to bomb, to uproot, to dispossess.
This same divine promise grants all Jews everywhere - even those who have never set foot in Israel - more rights in this land than any Palestinian who was born here. This land is ruled by a state that refuses to be a state of its actual citizens and thinks only of potential citizens from the Diaspora.
Ethnic head-counting is second nature to this state. Thus the Haredim and Hardalim know that the second asset they are selling is beyond price: their high birthrate. In the Haredi view, this high birthrate is worth more than any military service or tax payment could ever be.
The Hardalim, in contrast, combine this with a third asset for sale: lust for battle, and for ascending the military ranks, and a willingness to "die for our country" - all of which have been on the wane, relatively speaking, among other sectors of the population. In a state that has done everything in its power over the last several decades to miss any opportunity for peace, this military enthusiasm is a vital asset - especially as good neighborly relations in this region now seem more unachievable than ever before.
Hardalim and Haredim see that most of the Israeli Jewish public has eagerly bought these inexhaustible assets, so now they are continuing down the same consistent path. The Haredim and Hardalim simply long for wholeness: the divine promise and the laws of kashrut. They are offering soldiers in the demographic warfare in exchange for the non-mixing of women and men in the army.
The problem then is not the sellers but the buyers. The secular Jews who allow or even encourage the expulsion of Arab residents of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, Al-Arakib and Safed, should not complain if tomorrow, theaters and concert halls are required to set up separate sections for the female portion of the audience. And those who spend their holy Saturdays having fun rather than going out to defend shepherds and farmers from skullcap-wearing Salafists should not be surprised if the day after, Jewish fundamentalism even invades their bedrooms.
Read this article in Hebrew: לגרש פלסטינים, ולהדיר נשים
terça-feira, 22 de novembro de 2011
Israeli journalists hold urgent meeting on defending freedom of press
20 november 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Haaretz editor-in-chief and leading media personalities take part in emergency conference aimed at 'stopping the sweeping attacks on the media'.
By Revital Blumenfeld
Top reporters, editors and representatives from the Israeli media convened on Sunday for an emergency conference aimed at defending freedom of the press in the country.
The conference, held at Tel Aviv’s cinematheque, was called in response to a recent downsizing in Israeli media outlets, the pending closure of Israel’s second commercial television channel, Channel 10, and a bill toughening Israeli libel laws.
Some of Israel’s leading journalists and media personalities spoke at the event, including Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Ben, and top journalists Yair Lapid and Ayala Hasson.
This is the first event of this kind, uniting Israeli media to counter what they view is an assault on free press. Conference organizers promise event will be “opening shot to a series of steps, planned for the upcoming weeks, aimed at stopping the sweeping attack on the media.”
The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee last month approved an amendment to the current libel law that, if approved by Knesset, would result in a substantial hike to the maximum damages paid and would loosen the criteria for slander and libel. Criticis of the amendment believe this will hamper freedom of expression and the independent press.
In addition to amendments and legislation being tossed around Knesset, recent action taken against journalists seen as highly critical of the government has caused many to fear an organized silencing of dissenting voices.
Keren Neubach was dismissed from her position as anchorwoman of “Mabat Sheni” (Second Glance), Channel One’s news magazine show. Neubach who held the position for three years, is considered highly critical of the government and many view her dismissal as politically motivated.
“I am concerned with the connection between the assault on the press and that on the judicial system,” veteran investigative journalist Ilana Dayan told participants of the conference. “Someone is afraid of dogged press and a critical Supreme Court.”
Channel 2 News anchor Yair Lapid warned: "An incompetent government is silencing dissenting voices."
Raviv Druker, of Channel 10, said. "Both the government and the rich are a threat to free press."
Haaretz editor-in-chief and leading media personalities take part in emergency conference aimed at 'stopping the sweeping attacks on the media'.
By Revital Blumenfeld
Top reporters, editors and representatives from the Israeli media convened on Sunday for an emergency conference aimed at defending freedom of the press in the country.
The conference, held at Tel Aviv’s cinematheque, was called in response to a recent downsizing in Israeli media outlets, the pending closure of Israel’s second commercial television channel, Channel 10, and a bill toughening Israeli libel laws.
Some of Israel’s leading journalists and media personalities spoke at the event, including Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Ben, and top journalists Yair Lapid and Ayala Hasson.
This is the first event of this kind, uniting Israeli media to counter what they view is an assault on free press. Conference organizers promise event will be “opening shot to a series of steps, planned for the upcoming weeks, aimed at stopping the sweeping attack on the media.”
The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee last month approved an amendment to the current libel law that, if approved by Knesset, would result in a substantial hike to the maximum damages paid and would loosen the criteria for slander and libel. Criticis of the amendment believe this will hamper freedom of expression and the independent press.
In addition to amendments and legislation being tossed around Knesset, recent action taken against journalists seen as highly critical of the government has caused many to fear an organized silencing of dissenting voices.
Keren Neubach was dismissed from her position as anchorwoman of “Mabat Sheni” (Second Glance), Channel One’s news magazine show. Neubach who held the position for three years, is considered highly critical of the government and many view her dismissal as politically motivated.
“I am concerned with the connection between the assault on the press and that on the judicial system,” veteran investigative journalist Ilana Dayan told participants of the conference. “Someone is afraid of dogged press and a critical Supreme Court.”
Channel 2 News anchor Yair Lapid warned: "An incompetent government is silencing dissenting voices."
Raviv Druker, of Channel 10, said. "Both the government and the rich are a threat to free press."
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