20 noviembre 2011, Rebelión http://www.rebelion.org (México)
Anna Mahjar-Barducci*
Haaretz Traducido para Rebelión por J. M. y revisado por Caty R.
Aunque Israel es su tierra natal, y aunque lo más probable es que quiera servir en su ejército, a mi hija se le niega uno de los más elementales derechos humanos, como el derecho a casarse en su propio país.
Al menos, uno de los principales obstáculos impide que todos los ciudadanos israelíes disfruten de la igualdad de derechos: la ausencia de matrimonio civil. Hay cientos de miles de israelíes "que carecen de filiación religiosa" que no pueden casarse en su propio país, donde nacieron y se criaron. Mi hija es una de ellas.
Mi hija nació en Jerusalén y asiste a una escuela de lengua hebrea. Su padre es un judío israelí. Pero como yo no soy judía y no me identifico con una religión en particular, en su certificado de nacimiento dice que nuestra hija es "sin filiación religiosa”. Cuando nació, el Ministerio del Interior israelí ni siquiera quiso reconocer a nuestra hija como ciudadana israelí. A fin de que mi marido pudiera dar su apellido a la niña, el Ministerio exigió la prueba extrema, la de ADN (a nuestro costo) para demostrar su paternidad.
Mientras a mi hija se le concedió la condición de ciudadana y lleva el apellido de su padre, su partida de nacimiento aún se esfuerza en recalcar que no es judía y no forma parte de la nación judía.
En la década del 60, el israelí Benjamín Shalit, que estaba casado con una mujer cristiana, trataba de registrar a sus hijos en el Ministerio del Interior como sin afiliación religiosa, pero judío por su origen étnico (le'om). El oficial del registro, sin embargo, se negó a escribir eso. Shalit llevó el caso a la Corte Suprema, que falló a su favor. Sin embargo, como la decisión generó controversia, en los años 70, en una enmienda aprobada en la Knesset que indica que sólo alguien considerado judío por la Halajá (ley religiosa) puede ser étnicamente judío. Esta es la razón por la cual mi hija, a pesar de ser hija de un judío israelí, carece de filiación étnica y religiosa.
Esto significa que aunque Israel es su tierra natal, y aunque lo más probable es que le gustaría servir en su ejército, a mi hija se le niega uno de los más elementales derechos humanos, como el derecho a casarse en su propio país.
Cada día, al llevar a mi hija a dar un paseo en el Parque de la Independencia de Jerusalén, me encuentro con otras madres nacidas en el extranjero y casadas con judíos israelíes, y cuyos hijos están en la misma situación. Algunos de estos niños tienen los ojos asiáticos, mientras que otros tienen la piel de color chocolate o las mejillas como las muñecas babushka, pero todos son niños israelíes. Su país, sin embargo, se niega a aceptarlos como propios y a tratarlos como ciudadanos iguales.
El Convenio para los esponsales de personas que carecen de afiliación religiosa, aprobado por la Knesset en 2010, fue promocionado como una solución al problema, pero en realidad es sólo una manera vergonzosa de evadir y encarar el tema. La ley permite a las parejas formar una unión civil, pero sólo cuando ambos cónyuges carecen de afiliación religiosa. La ley básicamente establece que esas personas pueden casarse con otros de su calaña, pero no se deben "mezclar" con los judíos. La única manera de evitar esto es ir al extranjero para casarse. Por lo tanto, en lugar de ser un paso en la dirección correcta, sólo refuerza el carácter sectario de la sociedad israelí.
El único recurso que queda para las parejas mixtas en Israel es ir al extranjero para casarse. Cada año, miles de israelíes viajan a Chipre, la isla de Venus, para ejercer el derecho básico de casarse con la persona que aman. Como cuestión de hecho, el fracaso de Israel para implementar el matrimonio civil es una clara violación del artículo 16 de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, que establece que "los hombres y mujeres mayores de edad, sin restricción alguna por motivos de raza, nacionalidad o religión, tienen el derecho a casarse y fundar una familia”. Cuando fuimos a Chipre para casarnos, mi marido y yo conocimos a otras parejas que habían llegado con el mismo propósito, incluyendo algunas parejas de libaneses que, como nosotros, no podían casarse en su propia tierra. La ausencia de matrimonio civil, una clara violación de las libertades civiles, es una característica de los países conocidos por su falta de respeto a los derechos humanos, como Siria, Líbano, Arabia Saudí, Yemen e Irán. Israel no debería estar en la lista de la vergüenza. Pero mientras los ciudadanos no actúen para cambiar la situación, por desgracia, se mantendrá.
*Anna Mahjar-Barducci, es una periodista y escritora italiana-marroquí. Es la presidenta del Partido Asociación Árabe Liberal y Democrática con sede en Roma, que promueve las libertades civiles y la integración de los inmigrantes en Europa.
domingo, 20 de novembro de 2011
Le Parlement européen invite les USA et l’UE à reconnaître l’État palestinien
19 novembre 2011,Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS) http://www.france-palestine.org (France)
L’Orient le Jour et agences
Le Parlement européen a demandé hier aux États-Unis et à l’Union européenne de « répondre à la demande légitime des Palestiniens d’être représentés en tant qu’État aux Nations unies », dans une résolution adoptée à main levée dans la perspective du sommet Europe/États-Unis du 28 novembre.
Le Parlement avait déjà demandé aux 27 gouvernements européens « d’être unis » dans ce dossier, lorsque la demande a été déposée auprès de l’ONU le 23 septembre par le président de l’Autorité palestinienne Mahmoud Abbas, sans grand espoir de réussite compte tenu du veto américain. Les pays européens restent quant à eux divisés sur la question.
La résolution adoptée hier par le Parlement européen appelle en outre les États-Unis et l’UE à faire pression sur le gouvernement israélien pour qu’il revienne sur les mesures de rétorsion prises en réponse à l’adhésion de la Palestine à l’Unesco (Organisation des Nations unies pour l’éducation, les sciences et la culture).
Le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu a en effet décidé le 1er novembre d’accélérer la construction de 2 000 logements dans les colonies de Jérusalem-Est et de Cisjordanie occupée, et de geler provisoirement les transferts de fonds aux Palestiniens, après leur admission à l’Unesco le 31 octobre. Les fonds gelés, d’un montant d’environ 50 millions de dollars par mois, correspondent au remboursement des droits de douane et de TVA prélevés sur les produits destinés aux Palestiniens qui transitent par les ports et aéroports israéliens. Ils assurent 30 % du budget de l’Autorité palestinienne et permettent de payer 140 000 fonctionnaires palestiniens.
http://www.lorientlejour.com/numero...
L’Orient le Jour et agences
Le Parlement européen a demandé hier aux États-Unis et à l’Union européenne de « répondre à la demande légitime des Palestiniens d’être représentés en tant qu’État aux Nations unies », dans une résolution adoptée à main levée dans la perspective du sommet Europe/États-Unis du 28 novembre.
Le Parlement avait déjà demandé aux 27 gouvernements européens « d’être unis » dans ce dossier, lorsque la demande a été déposée auprès de l’ONU le 23 septembre par le président de l’Autorité palestinienne Mahmoud Abbas, sans grand espoir de réussite compte tenu du veto américain. Les pays européens restent quant à eux divisés sur la question.
La résolution adoptée hier par le Parlement européen appelle en outre les États-Unis et l’UE à faire pression sur le gouvernement israélien pour qu’il revienne sur les mesures de rétorsion prises en réponse à l’adhésion de la Palestine à l’Unesco (Organisation des Nations unies pour l’éducation, les sciences et la culture).
Le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu a en effet décidé le 1er novembre d’accélérer la construction de 2 000 logements dans les colonies de Jérusalem-Est et de Cisjordanie occupée, et de geler provisoirement les transferts de fonds aux Palestiniens, après leur admission à l’Unesco le 31 octobre. Les fonds gelés, d’un montant d’environ 50 millions de dollars par mois, correspondent au remboursement des droits de douane et de TVA prélevés sur les produits destinés aux Palestiniens qui transitent par les ports et aéroports israéliens. Ils assurent 30 % du budget de l’Autorité palestinienne et permettent de payer 140 000 fonctionnaires palestiniens.
http://www.lorientlejour.com/numero...
Israeli government shut down Israeli-Palestinian radio station
19 November 2011, Communist Party of Israel המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית http://maki.org.il
A small radio station, “Kol Hashalom,” unique in that it was directed jointly by a Palestinian and an Israeli, was abruptly shut down by the Israeli police on Thursday.
Kol Hashalom, which means “All for Peace,” had been active for the last seven years. It was a joint venture of the Palestinian NGO Biladi and the Israeli NGO Jewish-Arab Center for Peace, and was directed by former Meretz MK Mossi Raz and Meissa Baransie-Senyora. The station broadcast from Ramallah, under a license granted by the Palestinian Authority to the Biladi company.
(Kol Hashalom offices in Jerusalem/Photo: Kol Hashalom)
On November 4th, the Ministry of Communication sent a letter to Kol Hashalom, saying it is acting illegally and must close down immediately. The managers, having consulted their legal counsel, sent a letter last week denying all those claims. On last Thursday, Raz was summoned for a police interrogation, where he was informed that he was suspected of managing an "illegal radio station", and that if he does not order it to shut down immediately, he would be arrested and the police would raid the station’s Jerusalem offices.
A small radio station, “Kol Hashalom,” unique in that it was directed jointly by a Palestinian and an Israeli, was abruptly shut down by the Israeli police on Thursday.
Kol Hashalom, which means “All for Peace,” had been active for the last seven years. It was a joint venture of the Palestinian NGO Biladi and the Israeli NGO Jewish-Arab Center for Peace, and was directed by former Meretz MK Mossi Raz and Meissa Baransie-Senyora. The station broadcast from Ramallah, under a license granted by the Palestinian Authority to the Biladi company.
(Kol Hashalom offices in Jerusalem/Photo: Kol Hashalom)
On November 4th, the Ministry of Communication sent a letter to Kol Hashalom, saying it is acting illegally and must close down immediately. The managers, having consulted their legal counsel, sent a letter last week denying all those claims. On last Thursday, Raz was summoned for a police interrogation, where he was informed that he was suspected of managing an "illegal radio station", and that if he does not order it to shut down immediately, he would be arrested and the police would raid the station’s Jerusalem offices.
STOP THE WAR AGAINST IRAN – BEFORE IT BEGINS
11 November 2011, Communist Party of Israel המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית http://maki.org.il
Written by Uri Weltmann
Intervention in the 18th General Assembly of World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) by the Young Communist League of Israel (YCLI)
Dear Comrades,
The Young Communist League of Israel thanks the JCP for hosting this assembly. Today's assembly convenes at a time of great political unrest in the Middle East region. There are increasing signs that the Israeli government is preparing a new war of aggression, this time – against the people of Iran.
Last week, Israel conducted a test launch for a new long-range missile. The week before that – the Israeli air force conducted maneuvers with NATO armies, near Italy. The British Head of Military recently visited Israel, and the Israeli Minister of Defense visited Britain, with the question of an attack against Iran on the agenda.
At a time where Imperialism and Zionism begin to beat the drums of war, the Young Communist League of Israel, based on our internationalist commitment to defend peace, calls out -
Stop the war against Iran, before it begins!
No to new wars of aggression against the peoples of the Middle East!
But the Israeli government prepares new provocations not only against the Iranian people, but also against the Arab peoples, most notably – the Palestinian people.
Just recently, we've observed the happy occasion of Palestine's admittance as a full member of UNESCO. The Israeli government responded to this, with a decision to construct 2000 new houses in its West Bank settlements.
Thus, it is revealed that all the talk of the Israeli rightwing government, about "advancing peace", is but an empty talk. The Israeli government claims to support a peace, but in fact – creates facts on the ground, which only deepen the occupation and deepen the oppression of the Palestinian people.
In September, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke in the UN General Assembly, and presented a realistic and just peace program. The Israeli government's response was to reject it, with the backing of US Imperialism. Israel also rejects the Arab Peace Initiative, promoted by the Arab League.
Therefore, we need not have illusions in the Israeli government's talk, nor have illusions in some intervention from the Imperialist powers. The United States government, the European Union, serve not the interests of the people. They will not intervene in defense of the rights of the Palestinians, and we've witnessed this in the UN General Assembly in September.
They are part of tripartite alliance of Imperialism, Zionism and Arab reactionaries, which works against peace, against social progress, against the rights of the peoples.
The ending of the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, remains to be a job of the peoples of the region themselves.
And peace can be achieved. Not imperialist peace, based on the continued oppression of the peoples, but a peace based on respecting the national sovereignty of all peoples of the region:
A peace which is based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, alongside Israel, on all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital;
A peace which is based on the dismantling of all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the dismantling of the Separation Wall;
A peace which is based on the release of all Palestinian political prisoners, held in Israeli jails;
A peace which is based on achieving a just solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees, according to UN resolution 194, which recognizes the Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, which is an inalienable right.
Comrades,
We must remember that Israel occupies not only Palestinian lands.
We oppose the Israeli criminal occupation of Lebanese Shebaa farms, and support the patriotic and steadfast resistance of its people, especially the kind we've witnessed five years ago, when Israel invaded Lebanon.
We support the struggle of the Syrian people to restore the national integrity of its homeland, and end the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.
We stand completely behind the Arab Spring, the popular revolutionary upheavals and demonstrations for democracy and social justice, we've witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere.
However, we unequivocally reject all Imperialist interference in the Arab countries, under the guise of "helping the Arab Spring". NATO bombings of Libya did not serve the interests of the Libyan people, but harmed it; In Syria, the interference of the United States and France did not serve the interests of the Syrian people, but harmed it.
Comrades,
The Israeli government follows aggressive policies not only in its foreign policy, but also in its domestic policy.
Harsh neo-liberal measures, privatization of public services, cut-backs in social spending – have all harmed the living conditions of the popular strata within Israel. The recent global capitalist crisis made things worse, as the government tried to have the working people pay the price of the crisis.
While the cost of living is on the rise, the wages remained stagnant. Young people, working in precarious jobs, found themselves unable to make ends meet, as food becomes more expensive, as public transportation becomes more expensive, as housing becomes more expensive.
Four months ago, these social tensions gave birth to a massive popular social protest movement, led by young people. This movement was able to mobilize Israelis in demonstrations in an unprecedented way.
The movement, in which comrades from the Young Communist League of Israel have leadership roles, demanded a new social thinking, one that puts social justice on the fore, rather than the profits of a few ultra-rich.
At the height of the mobilization, on September 3rd, half a million of Israelis demonstrated at once – 300,000 thousands in Tel Aviv and 200,000 elsewhere throughout the country - which amounts to about 6% of the country's population.
These developments fill us with optimism and make us more resolute to continue struggling for the rights of the youth.
The Young Communist League, basing itself on Marxism-Leninism, will continue struggling for revolutionary social transformations, for achieving Socialism, which is the only way to solve the social problems created by Capitalism.
The Young Communist League, the sole political youth movement in Israel which has both Jewish and Arab members, will continue struggling against racism, against discrimination, against nationalism and Zionism.
The Young Communist League of Israel is committed to fortify the World Federation of Democratic Youth as a consistent Anti-Imperialist youth organization. The role that WFDY fulfills in this respect is very unique, and most be preserved.
There are many philanthropic and humanitarian international bodies. We don't need another one.
There are many youth forums that have a liberal perspective. We don't need another one.
But there is only one world Anti-Imperialist youth organization, there is only one world youth organization that has a Socialist perspective, and that is WFDY.
This is a legacy we, in the YCL of Israel, are determined to defend.
Comrades,
The Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, once wrote على هذه الارض ما يستحق الحياة "This land has in it what justifies life". Inspired by these words, and drawing from the overwhelming energy of the recent social protest movement, we in the YCL of Israel will continue to struggle for a better life on this land, for all.
Long Live International Solidarity!
Long Live WFDY!
Delivered by Uri Weltmann, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Young Communist League of Israel (YCLI), Lisbon, Portugal, November 8th, 2011
Written by Uri Weltmann
Intervention in the 18th General Assembly of World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) by the Young Communist League of Israel (YCLI)
Dear Comrades,
The Young Communist League of Israel thanks the JCP for hosting this assembly. Today's assembly convenes at a time of great political unrest in the Middle East region. There are increasing signs that the Israeli government is preparing a new war of aggression, this time – against the people of Iran.
Last week, Israel conducted a test launch for a new long-range missile. The week before that – the Israeli air force conducted maneuvers with NATO armies, near Italy. The British Head of Military recently visited Israel, and the Israeli Minister of Defense visited Britain, with the question of an attack against Iran on the agenda.
At a time where Imperialism and Zionism begin to beat the drums of war, the Young Communist League of Israel, based on our internationalist commitment to defend peace, calls out -
Stop the war against Iran, before it begins!
No to new wars of aggression against the peoples of the Middle East!
But the Israeli government prepares new provocations not only against the Iranian people, but also against the Arab peoples, most notably – the Palestinian people.
Just recently, we've observed the happy occasion of Palestine's admittance as a full member of UNESCO. The Israeli government responded to this, with a decision to construct 2000 new houses in its West Bank settlements.
Thus, it is revealed that all the talk of the Israeli rightwing government, about "advancing peace", is but an empty talk. The Israeli government claims to support a peace, but in fact – creates facts on the ground, which only deepen the occupation and deepen the oppression of the Palestinian people.
In September, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke in the UN General Assembly, and presented a realistic and just peace program. The Israeli government's response was to reject it, with the backing of US Imperialism. Israel also rejects the Arab Peace Initiative, promoted by the Arab League.
Therefore, we need not have illusions in the Israeli government's talk, nor have illusions in some intervention from the Imperialist powers. The United States government, the European Union, serve not the interests of the people. They will not intervene in defense of the rights of the Palestinians, and we've witnessed this in the UN General Assembly in September.
They are part of tripartite alliance of Imperialism, Zionism and Arab reactionaries, which works against peace, against social progress, against the rights of the peoples.
The ending of the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, remains to be a job of the peoples of the region themselves.
And peace can be achieved. Not imperialist peace, based on the continued oppression of the peoples, but a peace based on respecting the national sovereignty of all peoples of the region:
A peace which is based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, alongside Israel, on all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital;
A peace which is based on the dismantling of all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the dismantling of the Separation Wall;
A peace which is based on the release of all Palestinian political prisoners, held in Israeli jails;
A peace which is based on achieving a just solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees, according to UN resolution 194, which recognizes the Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, which is an inalienable right.
Comrades,
We must remember that Israel occupies not only Palestinian lands.
We oppose the Israeli criminal occupation of Lebanese Shebaa farms, and support the patriotic and steadfast resistance of its people, especially the kind we've witnessed five years ago, when Israel invaded Lebanon.
We support the struggle of the Syrian people to restore the national integrity of its homeland, and end the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.
We stand completely behind the Arab Spring, the popular revolutionary upheavals and demonstrations for democracy and social justice, we've witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere.
However, we unequivocally reject all Imperialist interference in the Arab countries, under the guise of "helping the Arab Spring". NATO bombings of Libya did not serve the interests of the Libyan people, but harmed it; In Syria, the interference of the United States and France did not serve the interests of the Syrian people, but harmed it.
Comrades,
The Israeli government follows aggressive policies not only in its foreign policy, but also in its domestic policy.
Harsh neo-liberal measures, privatization of public services, cut-backs in social spending – have all harmed the living conditions of the popular strata within Israel. The recent global capitalist crisis made things worse, as the government tried to have the working people pay the price of the crisis.
While the cost of living is on the rise, the wages remained stagnant. Young people, working in precarious jobs, found themselves unable to make ends meet, as food becomes more expensive, as public transportation becomes more expensive, as housing becomes more expensive.
Four months ago, these social tensions gave birth to a massive popular social protest movement, led by young people. This movement was able to mobilize Israelis in demonstrations in an unprecedented way.
The movement, in which comrades from the Young Communist League of Israel have leadership roles, demanded a new social thinking, one that puts social justice on the fore, rather than the profits of a few ultra-rich.
At the height of the mobilization, on September 3rd, half a million of Israelis demonstrated at once – 300,000 thousands in Tel Aviv and 200,000 elsewhere throughout the country - which amounts to about 6% of the country's population.
These developments fill us with optimism and make us more resolute to continue struggling for the rights of the youth.
The Young Communist League, basing itself on Marxism-Leninism, will continue struggling for revolutionary social transformations, for achieving Socialism, which is the only way to solve the social problems created by Capitalism.
The Young Communist League, the sole political youth movement in Israel which has both Jewish and Arab members, will continue struggling against racism, against discrimination, against nationalism and Zionism.
The Young Communist League of Israel is committed to fortify the World Federation of Democratic Youth as a consistent Anti-Imperialist youth organization. The role that WFDY fulfills in this respect is very unique, and most be preserved.
There are many philanthropic and humanitarian international bodies. We don't need another one.
There are many youth forums that have a liberal perspective. We don't need another one.
But there is only one world Anti-Imperialist youth organization, there is only one world youth organization that has a Socialist perspective, and that is WFDY.
This is a legacy we, in the YCL of Israel, are determined to defend.
Comrades,
The Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, once wrote على هذه الارض ما يستحق الحياة "This land has in it what justifies life". Inspired by these words, and drawing from the overwhelming energy of the recent social protest movement, we in the YCL of Israel will continue to struggle for a better life on this land, for all.
Long Live International Solidarity!
Long Live WFDY!
Delivered by Uri Weltmann, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Young Communist League of Israel (YCLI), Lisbon, Portugal, November 8th, 2011
Lieberman Severs Ties With Mossad
17 November 2011, Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם http://www.richardsilverstein.com (USA)
I’ve been reporting here lately on reports that the Shin Bet refused to provide Avigdor Lieberman security clearances that would’ve enabled him to see top secret documents about his then portfolio as minister of strategic affairs, Iran. An authoritative Israeli source also reported on longstanding rumors that Lieberman might be a KGB mole recruited to make aliya when he was a young man.
Now comes a new report in Yediot Achronot about an explosion between Lieberman and the Mossad that caused the minister to sever ties with the agency. Supposedly, the tension involves the spymasters usurping the authority of the foreign ministry with regard to relations with other nations. There are some nations which have rendered Israeli foreign ministry personnel as persona non grata. In some of them, the nations in question actually prefer to conduct relations with the Mossad, thus creating a side-channel that avoids the ministry altogether.
The Mossad also sends its secret cables from Israeli embassies throughout the world, but prevents the foreign ministry from seeing them. This causes the MFA officials to feel the Mossad is willing to take from them but not to give in return. The article quotes a ministry source:
In some instances they operated behind the backs of Israeli diplomats abroad and damaged their status. They put us through all sorts of rigamarole and we had to put a stop to this behavior.
The straw that broke the camel’s back apparently revolved around an incident in Israel-Turkish relations. During the period when there was no ambassador there, the Mossad developed its own contacts with the Turks arousing the ire of Lieberman and his colleagues. In some cases, the Turks appeared to favor dealing with the Mossad over the MFA.
As a result Lieberman’s announced the MFA will no longer share its cables with the Mossad.
I’ve been reporting here lately on reports that the Shin Bet refused to provide Avigdor Lieberman security clearances that would’ve enabled him to see top secret documents about his then portfolio as minister of strategic affairs, Iran. An authoritative Israeli source also reported on longstanding rumors that Lieberman might be a KGB mole recruited to make aliya when he was a young man.
Now comes a new report in Yediot Achronot about an explosion between Lieberman and the Mossad that caused the minister to sever ties with the agency. Supposedly, the tension involves the spymasters usurping the authority of the foreign ministry with regard to relations with other nations. There are some nations which have rendered Israeli foreign ministry personnel as persona non grata. In some of them, the nations in question actually prefer to conduct relations with the Mossad, thus creating a side-channel that avoids the ministry altogether.
The Mossad also sends its secret cables from Israeli embassies throughout the world, but prevents the foreign ministry from seeing them. This causes the MFA officials to feel the Mossad is willing to take from them but not to give in return. The article quotes a ministry source:
In some instances they operated behind the backs of Israeli diplomats abroad and damaged their status. They put us through all sorts of rigamarole and we had to put a stop to this behavior.
The straw that broke the camel’s back apparently revolved around an incident in Israel-Turkish relations. During the period when there was no ambassador there, the Mossad developed its own contacts with the Turks arousing the ire of Lieberman and his colleagues. In some cases, the Turks appeared to favor dealing with the Mossad over the MFA.
As a result Lieberman’s announced the MFA will no longer share its cables with the Mossad.
Rabbi Lerner: EMBRACING ISRAEL/PALESTINE
17 November 2011, Tikkun תיקון http://www.tikkun.org (USA)
Rabbi Lerner has just come out with a new book, Embracing Israel/Palestine, which has been enthusiastically praised by Archibishop Desmond Tutu, former Chair of the Israeli Knesset Avrum Burg, former President Jimmy Carter, West Bank Palestinian peace activist Sami Awad, scholar of religion Robert Bellah, and many others (see below). He shows how to understand the history of the conflict in a way that is fair to both sides and avoids demonizing either side. He also argues that no political deal at a negotiating table has a chance of working without a fundamental transformation of consciousness-- and that we in the West can help shape the transformation needed to provide the security, justice, and mutual compassion necessary for a lasting peace.
Would you like to host Rabbi Lerner in your community center, university, church, synagogue, mosque, bookstore, political organization or anywhere else where you could get a large attendance to hear him? He can also talk about the Occupy movement, strategies to transform American society, the Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the US Constitution (a requirement to eliminate all private monies or corporate monies in elections as well as to require corporate environmental and social responsibility), or the Global Marshall Plan. All these can work together with his talk on Israel/Palestine if you wish. Can you raise funds to cover his travel expenses and speaking stipend? If yes, please email me (ashley@tikkun.org).
You can order the book at www.tikkun.org/embracing or send a $20 check made out to Tikkun to 2342 Shattuck Ave, #1200, Berkeley, CA 94704. This book is published by North Atlantic Books and distributed by Random House. Please also encourage your local bookstore to carry Embracing Israel/Palestine; tell them it's a perfect gift for Christmas/Chanukah or other festive occasions. Bookstores and groceries can call 1-800-733-3000 or email customerservice@randomhouse.com to arrange for delivery of the books. It is also available on Kindle and through Amazon.com.
Thanks in advance for your help in spreading the word! Even better if you'd create a study group with people in your community-- and we have an online study guide. (Click here to visit the book's website.) It's a book that is guaranteed to challenge simplistic thinking on both sides. It has a serious analysis of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that must be dealt with in both Palestine and Israel and a nuanced and generous account of the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis--and a strategy to overcome all this. Please read it!
Ashley Bates
Assistant Editor, Tikkun
Endorsements
Rabbi Michael Lerner is one of America's most significant progressive intellectuals and political leaders, and Embracing Israel/Palestine is not only a great conceptual breakthrough in dealing with the Middle East but also demonstrates a methodology for how best to think about global and domestic U.S. politics. For many decades Muslims, around the world have been cheered by Rabbi Lerner's challenge to the media’s demeaning of our religion and dismissal of the rights of Palestinians, just as they have been challenged by his insistence that they recognize the importance of truly and deeply accepting Israel's right to exist in peace and security. —Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first elected Muslim to the U.S. Congress and chair of the seventy-member Progressive Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives
Embracing Israel/Palestine is a must-read for those who care about peace in the Middle East. It is provocative, radical, persuasive, and, if given the attention it deserves, could make a major contribution to reconciliation. Please read this book! —Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Rabbi Michael Lerner provides us with a brilliant and hopeful vision of how to transform the Middle East from a cauldron of violence to a vanguard of peace. I hope every American will read this book and apply its lessons to change how we deal with the Middle East. For several decades Lerner has been a remarkably courageous rabbi, defying the orthodoxies of some in his own community to insist that Biblical teachings require recognizing the equal value to God of both Israelis and Palestinians. Challenging the extremists on all sides, Lerner insists on the practical and ethical necessity to embrace both Israel and Palestine with compassion and love. Lerner presents us with a path to peace that will require our replacing the strategy of domination and war with what Lerner appropriately describes as the far more effective path to homeland security: the strategy of generosity and genuine caring for the well-being of everyone involved. This is practical and effective advice for the world. I hope every American will read this book and apply its lessons in change how we deal with the Middle East. —Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States of America
Embracing Israel/Palestine is a terrific book by a pioneer of global transformation. Out of love for both Israelis and Palestinians as equal creations of God, Rabbi Lerner offers us the deepest way out of the bloody conflict. Not just a political agreement, not a simple "real estate" and power sharing transaction, Embracing Israel/Palestine draws from a deep psychological and political understanding of the dynamics of the Middle East. Lerner's book is coming out of a loving heart and a powerful analytic mind. He offers us a strategy of trust that could heal and repair the mentalities of fear that limit the current perspectives that dominate our politics. —Avrum Burg, former chair of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization, speaker of the Knesset, and interim president of Israel
Rabbi Michael Lerner is one of the great prophetic figures of our time. He inherited this mantle from his teacher and my hero, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. This book should be the indispensable work on the delicate and difficult effort to keep track of the precious humanity of Jews and Palestinians in the epic struggles for security and justice. —Cornel West, author of Race Matter and professor of African American studies and religion at Princeton University
Rabbi Michael Lerner is one of the very few Jewish leaders in the Diaspora who has consistently challenged slavish Jewish pandering to right-wing Israeli chauvinism and messianism, opposed the Occupation of the West Bank and the crimes of many Israeli settlers, supported Palestinian rights and justice for the Palestinian people, called for an end to religious coercion and separation of state and synagogue in Israel, yet has simultaneously retained a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of Israel and the Jewish people. He has been a fierce critic of those who move from legitimate criticism of Israeli policies to illegitimate anti-Semitism or attempts to destroy Israel. His voice needs to be heard by Israelis, Palestinians, and all those who seek peace for the Middle East. —Uri Avnery, former member of the Knesset and current chair of the Israeli peace movement Gush Shalom
I've read dozens of books on the subject, but none has the potential this book has to inform wisely and fairly, mobilize good will effectively, and motivate action intelligently toward needed change. Rabbi Lerner’s generous Jewish vision warms my Christian heart, and his deep integration of spirituality, theology, political philosophy, and human kindness serves as a model I hope many will join me in following. —Brian McLaren, Christian Evangelical Pastor and author of A New Kind of Christianity
Embracing Israel/Palestine is a masterpiece among the myriads of studies dedicated to the numerous human catastrophes of our times. No matter how many books you've read on this subject, Rabbi Lerner will give you a new and powerfully insightful perspective that could empower you to play a significant and hopefully effective role in healing this conflict—and in doing so beginning to heal the world. —Zygmunt Bauman, author of Modernity and the Holocaust and Postmodernity and Its Discontents
Michael Lerner takes a courageous, enlightening position in Embracing Israel/Palestine, not only in speaking as an American Jewish rabbi who cares about both countries, but in his conviction that only real attention to the suffering and historical traumas of both sides can bring about peace. The intellectual clarity and psychological sophistication of his presentation is matched by his passionate plea for the transformation of religion from a tool for political partisanship to a basis for genuine renewal of commitment to justice and recognition of all peoples. His argument breaks the conventional splitting between the pragmatic and the idealistic, making a convincing case that only respect for the needs of all peoples will bring about the will and the possibility of resolution. —Jessica Benjamin, psychoanalyst and author of The Bonds of Love
Rabbi Lerner has been passionately advocating a new era of peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land utilizing the interfaith resources. We are confident that this spirit of mutual respect and cooperation can work in the Holy Land as well. There are enough resources in our scriptures, traditions, and history to make such solidarity legitimate. I hope that Muslims, Jews, and Christians will use Embracing Israel/Palestine as a jumping off point for discussing how our three faiths can work together to bring peace and justice to the Middle East. —Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director at the Islamic Society of North America’s Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances
This book would change the world if there were enough people who would open their eyes and read it. Lerner uses Israel/Palestine as a prism to look at the world as a whole—rife with conflicts of many kinds, a number of which involve the United States. He comes to the wildly "utopian" conclusion that the solution to these conflicts can only come by following the Biblical injunctions to love the stranger. Far from being utopian or unrealistic, Lerner shows that this will be the only practical way to keep the alliance of nationalism and capitalism that rules the world today from destroying the fabric of natural and social life. I hope this book will be used widely in courses in political science and sociology in our universities, not only in courses about the Middle East. —Rober Bellah, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, author of Religion in Human Evolution, and co-author of Habits of the Heart
There are good books and there are needed books. This book is both. It is good because Michael Lerner gives an insightful account of the history and politics of struggles between Israelis and Palestinians. It is needed because he grasps the religious underpinnings of this conflict and his spiritually progressive perspectives offer hope for peace. What Rabbi Lerner has to say will be especially helpful for my fellow Evangelicals who must balance their justifiable love for Israel with a cry for justice for the Palestinian people. —Tony Campolo, Evangelical pastor and professor of sociology at Eastern University
web: www.spiritualprogressives.org
Rabbi Lerner has just come out with a new book, Embracing Israel/Palestine, which has been enthusiastically praised by Archibishop Desmond Tutu, former Chair of the Israeli Knesset Avrum Burg, former President Jimmy Carter, West Bank Palestinian peace activist Sami Awad, scholar of religion Robert Bellah, and many others (see below). He shows how to understand the history of the conflict in a way that is fair to both sides and avoids demonizing either side. He also argues that no political deal at a negotiating table has a chance of working without a fundamental transformation of consciousness-- and that we in the West can help shape the transformation needed to provide the security, justice, and mutual compassion necessary for a lasting peace.
Would you like to host Rabbi Lerner in your community center, university, church, synagogue, mosque, bookstore, political organization or anywhere else where you could get a large attendance to hear him? He can also talk about the Occupy movement, strategies to transform American society, the Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the US Constitution (a requirement to eliminate all private monies or corporate monies in elections as well as to require corporate environmental and social responsibility), or the Global Marshall Plan. All these can work together with his talk on Israel/Palestine if you wish. Can you raise funds to cover his travel expenses and speaking stipend? If yes, please email me (ashley@tikkun.org).
You can order the book at www.tikkun.org/embracing or send a $20 check made out to Tikkun to 2342 Shattuck Ave, #1200, Berkeley, CA 94704. This book is published by North Atlantic Books and distributed by Random House. Please also encourage your local bookstore to carry Embracing Israel/Palestine; tell them it's a perfect gift for Christmas/Chanukah or other festive occasions. Bookstores and groceries can call 1-800-733-3000 or email customerservice@randomhouse.com to arrange for delivery of the books. It is also available on Kindle and through Amazon.com.
Thanks in advance for your help in spreading the word! Even better if you'd create a study group with people in your community-- and we have an online study guide. (Click here to visit the book's website.) It's a book that is guaranteed to challenge simplistic thinking on both sides. It has a serious analysis of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that must be dealt with in both Palestine and Israel and a nuanced and generous account of the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis--and a strategy to overcome all this. Please read it!
Ashley Bates
Assistant Editor, Tikkun
Endorsements
Rabbi Michael Lerner is one of America's most significant progressive intellectuals and political leaders, and Embracing Israel/Palestine is not only a great conceptual breakthrough in dealing with the Middle East but also demonstrates a methodology for how best to think about global and domestic U.S. politics. For many decades Muslims, around the world have been cheered by Rabbi Lerner's challenge to the media’s demeaning of our religion and dismissal of the rights of Palestinians, just as they have been challenged by his insistence that they recognize the importance of truly and deeply accepting Israel's right to exist in peace and security. —Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first elected Muslim to the U.S. Congress and chair of the seventy-member Progressive Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives
Embracing Israel/Palestine is a must-read for those who care about peace in the Middle East. It is provocative, radical, persuasive, and, if given the attention it deserves, could make a major contribution to reconciliation. Please read this book! —Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Rabbi Michael Lerner provides us with a brilliant and hopeful vision of how to transform the Middle East from a cauldron of violence to a vanguard of peace. I hope every American will read this book and apply its lessons to change how we deal with the Middle East. For several decades Lerner has been a remarkably courageous rabbi, defying the orthodoxies of some in his own community to insist that Biblical teachings require recognizing the equal value to God of both Israelis and Palestinians. Challenging the extremists on all sides, Lerner insists on the practical and ethical necessity to embrace both Israel and Palestine with compassion and love. Lerner presents us with a path to peace that will require our replacing the strategy of domination and war with what Lerner appropriately describes as the far more effective path to homeland security: the strategy of generosity and genuine caring for the well-being of everyone involved. This is practical and effective advice for the world. I hope every American will read this book and apply its lessons in change how we deal with the Middle East. —Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States of America
Embracing Israel/Palestine is a terrific book by a pioneer of global transformation. Out of love for both Israelis and Palestinians as equal creations of God, Rabbi Lerner offers us the deepest way out of the bloody conflict. Not just a political agreement, not a simple "real estate" and power sharing transaction, Embracing Israel/Palestine draws from a deep psychological and political understanding of the dynamics of the Middle East. Lerner's book is coming out of a loving heart and a powerful analytic mind. He offers us a strategy of trust that could heal and repair the mentalities of fear that limit the current perspectives that dominate our politics. —Avrum Burg, former chair of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization, speaker of the Knesset, and interim president of Israel
Rabbi Michael Lerner is one of the great prophetic figures of our time. He inherited this mantle from his teacher and my hero, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. This book should be the indispensable work on the delicate and difficult effort to keep track of the precious humanity of Jews and Palestinians in the epic struggles for security and justice. —Cornel West, author of Race Matter and professor of African American studies and religion at Princeton University
Rabbi Michael Lerner is one of the very few Jewish leaders in the Diaspora who has consistently challenged slavish Jewish pandering to right-wing Israeli chauvinism and messianism, opposed the Occupation of the West Bank and the crimes of many Israeli settlers, supported Palestinian rights and justice for the Palestinian people, called for an end to religious coercion and separation of state and synagogue in Israel, yet has simultaneously retained a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of Israel and the Jewish people. He has been a fierce critic of those who move from legitimate criticism of Israeli policies to illegitimate anti-Semitism or attempts to destroy Israel. His voice needs to be heard by Israelis, Palestinians, and all those who seek peace for the Middle East. —Uri Avnery, former member of the Knesset and current chair of the Israeli peace movement Gush Shalom
I've read dozens of books on the subject, but none has the potential this book has to inform wisely and fairly, mobilize good will effectively, and motivate action intelligently toward needed change. Rabbi Lerner’s generous Jewish vision warms my Christian heart, and his deep integration of spirituality, theology, political philosophy, and human kindness serves as a model I hope many will join me in following. —Brian McLaren, Christian Evangelical Pastor and author of A New Kind of Christianity
Embracing Israel/Palestine is a masterpiece among the myriads of studies dedicated to the numerous human catastrophes of our times. No matter how many books you've read on this subject, Rabbi Lerner will give you a new and powerfully insightful perspective that could empower you to play a significant and hopefully effective role in healing this conflict—and in doing so beginning to heal the world. —Zygmunt Bauman, author of Modernity and the Holocaust and Postmodernity and Its Discontents
Michael Lerner takes a courageous, enlightening position in Embracing Israel/Palestine, not only in speaking as an American Jewish rabbi who cares about both countries, but in his conviction that only real attention to the suffering and historical traumas of both sides can bring about peace. The intellectual clarity and psychological sophistication of his presentation is matched by his passionate plea for the transformation of religion from a tool for political partisanship to a basis for genuine renewal of commitment to justice and recognition of all peoples. His argument breaks the conventional splitting between the pragmatic and the idealistic, making a convincing case that only respect for the needs of all peoples will bring about the will and the possibility of resolution. —Jessica Benjamin, psychoanalyst and author of The Bonds of Love
Rabbi Lerner has been passionately advocating a new era of peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land utilizing the interfaith resources. We are confident that this spirit of mutual respect and cooperation can work in the Holy Land as well. There are enough resources in our scriptures, traditions, and history to make such solidarity legitimate. I hope that Muslims, Jews, and Christians will use Embracing Israel/Palestine as a jumping off point for discussing how our three faiths can work together to bring peace and justice to the Middle East. —Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director at the Islamic Society of North America’s Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances
This book would change the world if there were enough people who would open their eyes and read it. Lerner uses Israel/Palestine as a prism to look at the world as a whole—rife with conflicts of many kinds, a number of which involve the United States. He comes to the wildly "utopian" conclusion that the solution to these conflicts can only come by following the Biblical injunctions to love the stranger. Far from being utopian or unrealistic, Lerner shows that this will be the only practical way to keep the alliance of nationalism and capitalism that rules the world today from destroying the fabric of natural and social life. I hope this book will be used widely in courses in political science and sociology in our universities, not only in courses about the Middle East. —Rober Bellah, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, author of Religion in Human Evolution, and co-author of Habits of the Heart
There are good books and there are needed books. This book is both. It is good because Michael Lerner gives an insightful account of the history and politics of struggles between Israelis and Palestinians. It is needed because he grasps the religious underpinnings of this conflict and his spiritually progressive perspectives offer hope for peace. What Rabbi Lerner has to say will be especially helpful for my fellow Evangelicals who must balance their justifiable love for Israel with a cry for justice for the Palestinian people. —Tony Campolo, Evangelical pastor and professor of sociology at Eastern University
web: www.spiritualprogressives.org
Israeli government plans to exhume 1,000 bodies from historic Muslim cemetery
16 November 2011, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk
Thousands of graves containing the remains of the companions of the prophet, scholars and martyrs.
EXCLUSIVE PICTURES
A member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council has warned of Israeli plans to exhume 1,000 bodies from the historic Ma'man Allah Cemetery in occupied Jerusalem. In a press release on Monday, Dmitri Dalyani said that digging and excavation works in the cemetery "continue unabated with the consent of all Israeli authorities concerned, principally the Antiquities Department and the Jerusalem Municipality."
This was confirmed by the Aqsa Foundation for Endowments and Heritage, which added that in recent days "unusual" activities have taken place in a fenced-off area of the cemetery earmarked by the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre to build the so-called "Museum of Tolerance". The Foundation condemned the lack of respect for the cemetery by the Israeli authorities.
According to reports from representatives of the Aqsa Foundation who have visited the site, digging equipment and a large number of workers, including engineers, have entered the site, which has been cordoned off with extremely high fences and barbed wire. The actual excavation site has been covered over and security patrols have been stepped up significantly.
Dalyani pointed out that there was a "suspicious media blackout surrounding the exhumations which echoes the Israeli Antiquities Department's refusal to make any announcements of discoveries made since the operation began despite the obvious existence of vast numbers of bodies and artefacts in the historic cemetery." He stressed that "the desecration of the graves, particularly in the Ma'man Allah Cemetery, which is of religious and historic importance, has to be seen in the context of Israel's historic and cultural falsehoods since its establishment; now Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians extends to the removal of the dead."
However, Dalyani pointed out, what Israel is doing is actually an extension of what the British mandate authorities started to do in 1933, with its own series of violations against the Ma'man Allah Cemetery. Thousands of graves containing the remains of revered companions of Prophet Muhammad, scholars and martyrs, as well as Jerusalemite symbols attesting to the Arab history of Jerusalem have been exhumed and destroyed over the intervening years.
Thousands of graves containing the remains of the companions of the prophet, scholars and martyrs.
EXCLUSIVE PICTURES
A member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council has warned of Israeli plans to exhume 1,000 bodies from the historic Ma'man Allah Cemetery in occupied Jerusalem. In a press release on Monday, Dmitri Dalyani said that digging and excavation works in the cemetery "continue unabated with the consent of all Israeli authorities concerned, principally the Antiquities Department and the Jerusalem Municipality."
This was confirmed by the Aqsa Foundation for Endowments and Heritage, which added that in recent days "unusual" activities have taken place in a fenced-off area of the cemetery earmarked by the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre to build the so-called "Museum of Tolerance". The Foundation condemned the lack of respect for the cemetery by the Israeli authorities.
According to reports from representatives of the Aqsa Foundation who have visited the site, digging equipment and a large number of workers, including engineers, have entered the site, which has been cordoned off with extremely high fences and barbed wire. The actual excavation site has been covered over and security patrols have been stepped up significantly.
Dalyani pointed out that there was a "suspicious media blackout surrounding the exhumations which echoes the Israeli Antiquities Department's refusal to make any announcements of discoveries made since the operation began despite the obvious existence of vast numbers of bodies and artefacts in the historic cemetery." He stressed that "the desecration of the graves, particularly in the Ma'man Allah Cemetery, which is of religious and historic importance, has to be seen in the context of Israel's historic and cultural falsehoods since its establishment; now Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians extends to the removal of the dead."
However, Dalyani pointed out, what Israel is doing is actually an extension of what the British mandate authorities started to do in 1933, with its own series of violations against the Ma'man Allah Cemetery. Thousands of graves containing the remains of revered companions of Prophet Muhammad, scholars and martyrs, as well as Jerusalemite symbols attesting to the Arab history of Jerusalem have been exhumed and destroyed over the intervening years.
quarta-feira, 16 de novembro de 2011
THE FREEDOM RIDERS OF BUS 148
15 November 2011, 972 http://972mag.com (Israel)
by Mariam Al-Barghouti and Deema Al-Saafin*
(Photo: Activestills)
The Palestinian Freedom Rides movement was inspired by the Civil Rights Act of 1961, when African Americans and Americans alike boarded buses and road throughout the south in order to break segregation marked by Jim Crow laws. This act branded them the name “Freedom Riders”. Segregation of the 1960’s revolved around a direct schism between “blacks” and “whites” in every aspect of life imaginable; education, public eating, public transportation, and housing provinces. This began the Freedom Riders movement where Americans, “blacks” and “whites” alike, rode segregated buses . Inspired by such a movement, six Palestinian activists decided to do the same regarding segregated Israeli buses, in which they would be non-violently defying illegal Israeli settlements, and Israeli segregation.
Freedom Riders waiting for the bus. (Photo: Ann Paq/Activestills)
Earlier Tuesday November 15th, 6 Palestinian activists as well as people of the press headed to the illegal Israeli settlement of Kohav Yakov, where they attempted to board segregated Israeli buses headed to Jerusalem in defiance of Israeli apartheid and segregation. The first bus passes the activists however, the driver keeps driving on. The second bus, and the third pass, to no avail. Five buses passed the activists without stopping to allow them to get in as passengers; instead they completely ignored their existence. Whilst they were waiting for a bus to stop, an IOF military jeep came to the location of the Freedom Riders. It wasn't until the sixth bus, bus number 148 that the Palestinian Freedom Rides activists were able to board. Illegal Israeli settlers boarded the bus with the Freedom Riders. At this point, history had already been made, as Palestinians had physically got onto segregation buses headed to Jerusalem. Aboard the bus, the Palestinian flag was flown.
During the first and second Intifada, the waving of the Palestinian flag was an action enough to land a person in jail. During the weekly demonstrations in villages such as Nabi Saleh, Bil'in, Ni'leen and Walaja, waving the Palestinian flag can bring a person an arrest, or worse as in the case of Ashraf Abu Rahmah, administrative detention.
A settler aboard attempted to grab and confiscate the Palestinian flag, but his attempt was defied.
Fadi Qura'an facing the Israeli Border Police. (Photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills)
Bus 148 began its move to its perceived destination: Jerusalem. The driver of the bus was following an Israeli police vehicle, while the bus was accompanied by Israeli Occupying Forces from behind. The bus was led to Hizmah checkpoint, which is one of 522 checkpoints that are spread throughout the West Bank. Upon arrival to Hizmah checkpoint, Israeli Border Police as well as Israeli soldiers boarded bus 148 which carried the six Palestinian Freedom Rides activists: Nadeem Al-Sharbate, Huwaida Arraf, Dr.Mazin Qumsieyeh, Fadi Qura'an, Basel Al-Araj, and Badee' Dwaik, as well as several journalists documenting the event. The Police asked all the settlers on board and the driver to leave the bus, to which they obeyed but not before remarking to the activists still on board that "this is our land." The settlers were able to board another bus heading to Jerusalem without any harassment from the Border Police. However the activists were asked for their ID's, and confiscated them in an attempt to get the Freedom Riders to exit the bus. "I will show them my Palestinian ID card and say I want to go to Jerusalem. We'll see what happens," said Dr Mazin Qumsiyeh. However the Freedom Riders were determined to remain on the bus, saying over and over again "We are headed to Jerusalem."
Journalists were then kicked out of the bus and fined 500 Israeli Shekels for "parking on the side of the road". This is merely an attempt to punish those who spread the word of Israel's apartheid regime and its racist implications to the rest of the world.
(Photo: Activestills)
At this point, Freedom Riders had begun chanting, "We are not getting off, even if you throw us in jail". They knew that they could be arrested but remained defiant, and most importantly, non violent. Palestinian activist, Badee' Dwaik, resisted by nonviolently laying on the floor of the bus. He asked the Israeli Border Police "Why didn't you ask a settler for his permission slip into Jerusalem? Is his blood red and mine blue?"
When journalists and settlers were removed from the bus, only IOF and Israeli Border Police remained with the Freedom Riders. The bus then began its move to a police station.
Once at the police station, Israeli Border Police began forcibly removing Freedom Riders one by one. (Due to the camera shooting the live stream footage running out of battery, we were only able to see three arrests (Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Huwaida Arraf and lastly Fadi Quran’s). Israeli Border Police tried to negotiate with activists Huwaida Arraf and Fadi Quran, if negotiating meant saying "You are here illegally. Yallah, you will be taken off the bus." The Freedom Riders remained in their seats, staring straight ahead. IOF and Border Police then began to violently grab these activists one at a time forcing them off the bus. Whilst being arrested, Huwaida and Fadi both introduced themselves as Freedom Riders and said "We are only trying to go to Jerusalem." Alongside the activists, Fajr Harb was also arrested, even though he was not on board the bus, nor part of the Palestinian Freedom Riders group, he was merely arrested for showing support for the cause, and being Palestinian. As Fadi Quran said as he was being arrested "We only want our freedom, justice, and dignity." The activists and Fajr Harb were taken to the detention center of Atarot, where they remain now until further notice.
(Photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills)
This post originally appeared on the website WrittenResistance. All the Freedom Riders have since been released from Israeli custody.
Mariam Al-Barghouti is a Palestinian-American graduated from high school May 2011, currently taking a gap year in attempt to bring more awareness to the Palestinian cause.
Deema Al-Saafin is from both Gaza and West Bank,she also holds a British passport. She graduated from high school May 2011. She is continuing her studies at Birzeit University, where she is majoring in public administration.
by Mariam Al-Barghouti and Deema Al-Saafin*
(Photo: Activestills)
The Palestinian Freedom Rides movement was inspired by the Civil Rights Act of 1961, when African Americans and Americans alike boarded buses and road throughout the south in order to break segregation marked by Jim Crow laws. This act branded them the name “Freedom Riders”. Segregation of the 1960’s revolved around a direct schism between “blacks” and “whites” in every aspect of life imaginable; education, public eating, public transportation, and housing provinces. This began the Freedom Riders movement where Americans, “blacks” and “whites” alike, rode segregated buses . Inspired by such a movement, six Palestinian activists decided to do the same regarding segregated Israeli buses, in which they would be non-violently defying illegal Israeli settlements, and Israeli segregation.
Freedom Riders waiting for the bus. (Photo: Ann Paq/Activestills)
Earlier Tuesday November 15th, 6 Palestinian activists as well as people of the press headed to the illegal Israeli settlement of Kohav Yakov, where they attempted to board segregated Israeli buses headed to Jerusalem in defiance of Israeli apartheid and segregation. The first bus passes the activists however, the driver keeps driving on. The second bus, and the third pass, to no avail. Five buses passed the activists without stopping to allow them to get in as passengers; instead they completely ignored their existence. Whilst they were waiting for a bus to stop, an IOF military jeep came to the location of the Freedom Riders. It wasn't until the sixth bus, bus number 148 that the Palestinian Freedom Rides activists were able to board. Illegal Israeli settlers boarded the bus with the Freedom Riders. At this point, history had already been made, as Palestinians had physically got onto segregation buses headed to Jerusalem. Aboard the bus, the Palestinian flag was flown.
During the first and second Intifada, the waving of the Palestinian flag was an action enough to land a person in jail. During the weekly demonstrations in villages such as Nabi Saleh, Bil'in, Ni'leen and Walaja, waving the Palestinian flag can bring a person an arrest, or worse as in the case of Ashraf Abu Rahmah, administrative detention.
A settler aboard attempted to grab and confiscate the Palestinian flag, but his attempt was defied.
Fadi Qura'an facing the Israeli Border Police. (Photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills)
Bus 148 began its move to its perceived destination: Jerusalem. The driver of the bus was following an Israeli police vehicle, while the bus was accompanied by Israeli Occupying Forces from behind. The bus was led to Hizmah checkpoint, which is one of 522 checkpoints that are spread throughout the West Bank. Upon arrival to Hizmah checkpoint, Israeli Border Police as well as Israeli soldiers boarded bus 148 which carried the six Palestinian Freedom Rides activists: Nadeem Al-Sharbate, Huwaida Arraf, Dr.Mazin Qumsieyeh, Fadi Qura'an, Basel Al-Araj, and Badee' Dwaik, as well as several journalists documenting the event. The Police asked all the settlers on board and the driver to leave the bus, to which they obeyed but not before remarking to the activists still on board that "this is our land." The settlers were able to board another bus heading to Jerusalem without any harassment from the Border Police. However the activists were asked for their ID's, and confiscated them in an attempt to get the Freedom Riders to exit the bus. "I will show them my Palestinian ID card and say I want to go to Jerusalem. We'll see what happens," said Dr Mazin Qumsiyeh. However the Freedom Riders were determined to remain on the bus, saying over and over again "We are headed to Jerusalem."
Journalists were then kicked out of the bus and fined 500 Israeli Shekels for "parking on the side of the road". This is merely an attempt to punish those who spread the word of Israel's apartheid regime and its racist implications to the rest of the world.
(Photo: Activestills)
At this point, Freedom Riders had begun chanting, "We are not getting off, even if you throw us in jail". They knew that they could be arrested but remained defiant, and most importantly, non violent. Palestinian activist, Badee' Dwaik, resisted by nonviolently laying on the floor of the bus. He asked the Israeli Border Police "Why didn't you ask a settler for his permission slip into Jerusalem? Is his blood red and mine blue?"
When journalists and settlers were removed from the bus, only IOF and Israeli Border Police remained with the Freedom Riders. The bus then began its move to a police station.
Once at the police station, Israeli Border Police began forcibly removing Freedom Riders one by one. (Due to the camera shooting the live stream footage running out of battery, we were only able to see three arrests (Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Huwaida Arraf and lastly Fadi Quran’s). Israeli Border Police tried to negotiate with activists Huwaida Arraf and Fadi Quran, if negotiating meant saying "You are here illegally. Yallah, you will be taken off the bus." The Freedom Riders remained in their seats, staring straight ahead. IOF and Border Police then began to violently grab these activists one at a time forcing them off the bus. Whilst being arrested, Huwaida and Fadi both introduced themselves as Freedom Riders and said "We are only trying to go to Jerusalem." Alongside the activists, Fajr Harb was also arrested, even though he was not on board the bus, nor part of the Palestinian Freedom Riders group, he was merely arrested for showing support for the cause, and being Palestinian. As Fadi Quran said as he was being arrested "We only want our freedom, justice, and dignity." The activists and Fajr Harb were taken to the detention center of Atarot, where they remain now until further notice.
(Photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills)
This post originally appeared on the website WrittenResistance. All the Freedom Riders have since been released from Israeli custody.
Mariam Al-Barghouti is a Palestinian-American graduated from high school May 2011, currently taking a gap year in attempt to bring more awareness to the Palestinian cause.
Deema Al-Saafin is from both Gaza and West Bank,she also holds a British passport. She graduated from high school May 2011. She is continuing her studies at Birzeit University, where she is majoring in public administration.
Academics rally behind Ben-Gurion University prof. fined for refusing IDF duty
16 november 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Prof. Idan Landau has refused reserve duty for past 11 years, has been imprisoned three times; first time university has taken steps against him.
By Talila Nesher
Hundreds of academics from Israel and abroad have urged Ben-Gurion University of the Negev to reverse a fine it imposed on one of its professors, over his refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces reserves.
About 230 senior university lecturers from Israeli institutions of higher learning and about another 100 from abroad have sent a letter to BGU President Rivka Carmi, calling on her to reconsider the decision to reduce the pay of Prof. Idan Landau for a week that he spent in jail for refusing to serve. Another 90 faculty members from BGU made a similar demand of Carmi.
Prof. Landau, who lectures in the university's linguistics department, was informed about two weeks ago that half of his salary would be withheld for the period during which he was imprisoned for refusing for reasons of conscience. Landau has refused to do reserve duty for the past 11 years and has been imprisoned previously three times, but the university had not taken any steps against him in the past. In May of this year, after he spent a week in jail, he made up the instructional time that he had missed.
Landau also claimed that he continued conducting research from prison. In late June, however, the university administration deducted half of Landau's salary for the week on the grounds that he had been absent.
"Landau was not punished by the university," university spokesman Amir Rozenblit said. "No sanctions were imposed upon him for his political beliefs or due to any stance on the part of the university regarding his decision not to serve in the reserves. Employees are paid a salary for work. Since Dr. Landau was in detention, he was not at the disposal of his employer and is therefore not entitled to a salary for that period."
Prof. Idan Landau has refused reserve duty for past 11 years, has been imprisoned three times; first time university has taken steps against him.
By Talila Nesher
Hundreds of academics from Israel and abroad have urged Ben-Gurion University of the Negev to reverse a fine it imposed on one of its professors, over his refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces reserves.
About 230 senior university lecturers from Israeli institutions of higher learning and about another 100 from abroad have sent a letter to BGU President Rivka Carmi, calling on her to reconsider the decision to reduce the pay of Prof. Idan Landau for a week that he spent in jail for refusing to serve. Another 90 faculty members from BGU made a similar demand of Carmi.
Prof. Landau, who lectures in the university's linguistics department, was informed about two weeks ago that half of his salary would be withheld for the period during which he was imprisoned for refusing for reasons of conscience. Landau has refused to do reserve duty for the past 11 years and has been imprisoned previously three times, but the university had not taken any steps against him in the past. In May of this year, after he spent a week in jail, he made up the instructional time that he had missed.
Landau also claimed that he continued conducting research from prison. In late June, however, the university administration deducted half of Landau's salary for the week on the grounds that he had been absent.
"Landau was not punished by the university," university spokesman Amir Rozenblit said. "No sanctions were imposed upon him for his political beliefs or due to any stance on the part of the university regarding his decision not to serve in the reserves. Employees are paid a salary for work. Since Dr. Landau was in detention, he was not at the disposal of his employer and is therefore not entitled to a salary for that period."
Israeli government back bill to limit funding for human rights groups
13 november 2011, Communist Party of Israel המפלגה הקומוניסטית הישראלית http://maki.org.il
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation today (Sunday) approved two bills that would limit foreign funding for Israeli human rights and peace organizations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already announced support for one of the bills, sponsored by two members of his Likud party - MKs Tzipi Hotovely and Ofir Akunis - which would cap foreign governments' contributions to "political" non-governmental organizations at NIS 20,000.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, meanwhile, is throwing its weight behind the second initiative brought for by party MK Fania Kirshenbaum, which would slap a 45 percent tax on foreign governments' donations to NGOs ineligible for state funding. Taken together, these laws would essentially shut down all human rights organization in Israel. The legislative proposals will now be sent to the Knesset for further discussion and three readings before they become law.
Of the 18 members of Israel Ministerial Committee for Legislation, 11 voted for the proposals, five objected while 2 abstained. In explanatory comments, the Israeli bill says it expressly intended to "bar Israeli organizations from receiving money from foreign governments and international groups such as the United Nations and European Union".
While the measure does not specify which Israeli organizations are being targeted, one of its sponsors, Likud lawmaker Akunis, cited the settlement watch group and peace movement "Peace Now," human rights in the Palestinian occupied territories group "B'Tselem" and a military watchdog called "Breaking the Silence" as foreign aid recipients.
The measure is one of several condemned as bids to muzzle critics of Israeli policies toward Palestinians who seek a Palestinian state on land Israel occupied in a 1967 war.
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation today (Sunday) approved two bills that would limit foreign funding for Israeli human rights and peace organizations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already announced support for one of the bills, sponsored by two members of his Likud party - MKs Tzipi Hotovely and Ofir Akunis - which would cap foreign governments' contributions to "political" non-governmental organizations at NIS 20,000.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, meanwhile, is throwing its weight behind the second initiative brought for by party MK Fania Kirshenbaum, which would slap a 45 percent tax on foreign governments' donations to NGOs ineligible for state funding. Taken together, these laws would essentially shut down all human rights organization in Israel. The legislative proposals will now be sent to the Knesset for further discussion and three readings before they become law.
Of the 18 members of Israel Ministerial Committee for Legislation, 11 voted for the proposals, five objected while 2 abstained. In explanatory comments, the Israeli bill says it expressly intended to "bar Israeli organizations from receiving money from foreign governments and international groups such as the United Nations and European Union".
While the measure does not specify which Israeli organizations are being targeted, one of its sponsors, Likud lawmaker Akunis, cited the settlement watch group and peace movement "Peace Now," human rights in the Palestinian occupied territories group "B'Tselem" and a military watchdog called "Breaking the Silence" as foreign aid recipients.
The measure is one of several condemned as bids to muzzle critics of Israeli policies toward Palestinians who seek a Palestinian state on land Israel occupied in a 1967 war.
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