1 December 2011, + 972 http://972mag.com (Israel)
The true essence of the foreign funding bill is its subjugation of all Israeli civil society organizations to the government’s whims. On Friday, December 9, 2011, Israeli civil society fights back at the human rights march
By Ehud Uziel*
Originally published at HaOkets
The revised Akunis-Kirschenbaum foreign funding bill backed by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Lieberman is genius. Their proposed amendment to the income tax law will obligate a 45% taxation rate on donations from “a foreign state entity” to Israeli nonprofit organizations. The amendment will leave room for only one type of exemption for NGOs: those that also receive funding from the government. Those who do not already receive government funding must refer to a special Knesset “exemptions” committee that will decide whether to grant the tax exemption or not. This bill is genius because it doesn’t contribute a single thing to the Israeli public but makes all the headlines.
It’s genius because it redefines what is central and what is marginal in Israeli society, without drawing too much opposition, since it doesn’t impact the majority. It’s genius because it destroys civil society in Israel, but directs the public debate to focus exclusively on “NGOs that are anti-Israel.”
The essence of the bill is not a war on human rights organizations, or on criticism of government policy and the occupation, or even on foreign government donations. The true essence of the law is making all civil society organizations in Israel that seek foreign donations subordinate to the state and its government – since those organizations that aren’t also funded by the state will have no choice but to refer to the special Knesset “exemptions” committee and request the state’s benevolence. If this law is passed it will become much more difficult for an NGO to remain independent and not depend on the state’s generosity, whether it focuses on women’s rights, disability rights or the rights of Palestinians under military law.
The subjugation of civil society organizations to the state takes place in many countries, and NGOs fear the state in many countries. These are not democratic countries and their regimes are much more concerned with themselves than with their citizens. Proposed laws such as the Akunis-Kirschenbaum bill seek to divert the debate from legitimate criticism of policy to a struggle over the very ability to voice criticism; from a fundamental discussion about social justice and freedom and questioning military control of another people – to an inane conversation about the legitimacy of donations being made to human rights organization by the European Union, and whether these 2 million Euros are different from the 150 million Euro donated by the EU to scientific research in Israel.
The best response we can provide is the human rights march next Friday, December 9, 2011. All those who continue to demand social justice will be there. All those who demand freedom and human rights will be there and all those who continue to demand the sustenance and expansion of Israeli democracy will be there. Everyone who understands that freedom of expression, thought and ideas – even those ideas which are most critical and unaccepted by society – are what constitute the most profound foundation of democracy.
In a letter sent by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) to the Foreign Minister last week, we cautioned against his misleading the public by comparing this bill to legislation in the US and Canada. The differences are huge. For example, the US only requires transparency and reports on donations from foreign entities, which already exists in Israel, and there is no clause in the US regarding taxation rates.
ACRI also helped draft and encouraged Members of Knesset from all factions to push a new bill, “Basic Law: Social Rights” onto the legislative table in the Knesset. This meticulously drafted bill obligates the state to provide basic services to all its residents. We cannot only react but rather we must continue to combine opposition with initiatives. It is not sufficient to protest “Enough!” (of the witch hunt) but we must also demand “More!” (social justice).
The Human Rights March will transform the defense of democracy into the demand for social and civil justice. The march is the place to be for all those who care about what is really important: cultivating a healthy civil society with social legislation, the guarantee of freedom and the maintenance of Israeli democracy.
*Ehud Uziel is Campaign Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
Mostrando postagens com marcador racial cleasing. Mostrar todas as postagens
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sexta-feira, 2 de dezembro de 2011
Israeli station airs footage of soldiers attacking handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian
1 December 2011, Mondoweiss http://mondoweiss.net (USA)
Via Sama News
http://www.samanews.com/index.php?act=Show&id=112284&utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=99ab316d85-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
شاهد الفيديو..جنديان اسرائيليان ينكلان بفلسطيني..سنكسر رجليك ويديك ونحرمك من الحركة
القدس المحتلة / سما / نشرت القناة الثانية الاسرائيلية خلال نشرتها التلفزيونية الليلة الماضية فيديو لجنديين اسرائيليين يقومان بالتنكيل وبتعذيب فلسطينيين.
هذا وباشرت الشرطة الامنية الاسرائيلية التحقيق في الفيديوهات، وحسب ما ظهر في الفيديو الذي نشرته القناة الثانية والذي تداوله الجنود في هواتفهم الخليوية، ان الجنديين يقومان بالبداية بالاستهزاء بالشاب ليتطور الأمر الى حد الاعتداء عليه والتنكيل به.
ويظهر الفيديو ان الجندي الاسرائيلي يضرب الشاب الفلسطيني ويسأله:" لماذا تسبب المشاكل للجنود"، فأجابه الفلسطيني:"لست انا بل اصدقائي"، فقام الجندي بتوجيه صفعة ثانية للشاب، وقال له"لماذا تكذب؟"، عندها تدخل جندي اسرائيلي اخر كان معصوب العينيين وقام بضربه قائلا:"هذه الصفعة مني لصديقك فلتوصله له"، واستمرا في ضربه، وهدداه بكسر يديه ورجله ومنعه من التحرك، في الوقت الذي كان الشاب يصرخ من شدة ألمه مطالبا بالتوقف عن ضربه، وانه يشعر بالموت جراء الاهانة والتعذيب.
شاهد الفيديو..
Via Sama News
http://www.samanews.com/index.php?act=Show&id=112284&utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=99ab316d85-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
شاهد الفيديو..جنديان اسرائيليان ينكلان بفلسطيني..سنكسر رجليك ويديك ونحرمك من الحركة
القدس المحتلة / سما / نشرت القناة الثانية الاسرائيلية خلال نشرتها التلفزيونية الليلة الماضية فيديو لجنديين اسرائيليين يقومان بالتنكيل وبتعذيب فلسطينيين.
هذا وباشرت الشرطة الامنية الاسرائيلية التحقيق في الفيديوهات، وحسب ما ظهر في الفيديو الذي نشرته القناة الثانية والذي تداوله الجنود في هواتفهم الخليوية، ان الجنديين يقومان بالبداية بالاستهزاء بالشاب ليتطور الأمر الى حد الاعتداء عليه والتنكيل به.
ويظهر الفيديو ان الجندي الاسرائيلي يضرب الشاب الفلسطيني ويسأله:" لماذا تسبب المشاكل للجنود"، فأجابه الفلسطيني:"لست انا بل اصدقائي"، فقام الجندي بتوجيه صفعة ثانية للشاب، وقال له"لماذا تكذب؟"، عندها تدخل جندي اسرائيلي اخر كان معصوب العينيين وقام بضربه قائلا:"هذه الصفعة مني لصديقك فلتوصله له"، واستمرا في ضربه، وهدداه بكسر يديه ورجله ومنعه من التحرك، في الوقت الذي كان الشاب يصرخ من شدة ألمه مطالبا بالتوقف عن ضربه، وانه يشعر بالموت جراء الاهانة والتعذيب.
شاهد الفيديو..
PALESTINIAN CHILDREN IMPRISONED IN VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
1 December 2011, Alternative Information Center (AIC) המרכז לאינפורמציה אלטרנטיבית
http://www.alternativenews.org (Israel)
Jana Grunewald for the Alternative Information Center
In September 2009 Israel established the Military Youth Court. Two years later, in September 2011 Israel finally met its obligations under international law and raised the age of majority in the military courts from 16 to 18. However, none of these changes brought major improvements in practice and the abuse of Palestinian children arrested and detained by Israeli authorities continues…
(Scores of Palestinian children are in Israeli prisons/photo: flickr/jpmacor)
Since the beginning of the Second Intifada in September 2000, Israel started to deploy administrative detention orders on children. According to international law, administrative detention is only permitted on a very limited scale, especially in concern of minors. In Israel, however, Palestinian children are being detained systematically ever since. Every year there is an approximately 700 Palestinian children arrested by the Israeli military and prosecuted in its courts.
Currently 164 Palestinian children are kept in Israeli detention, mostly being charged with stone throwing. Although it is forbidden by Israeli law to imprison any human being under the age of 14, 35 of the children detained are aged between 12 and 13. It is alarming that minors are arrested and incarcerated in violation of Israeli and international legislation. What is even more disturbing though is the way children are treated during their arrest, interrogation and detention.
Several NGOs that investigated the treatment of minors in Israeli imprisonment, report on physical as well as mental abuse. In many cases minors are arrested in their home during the night and marched off by soldiers without any parental company. The interrogation as well takes place in the absence of a parent and/or an attorney. In many cases, several hours or even days pass until the arrested minors are interrogated at all. While waiting for the interrogation the children concerned are often denied necessary human needs such as sleeping, eating, drinking and going to the toilet. During all stages of the arrest violence is likely to be involved, including choking, punching, slapping, kicking and hair pulling. In addition to that minors are threatened with further violence and even sexual assault.
Another major problem is the fact that there is no alternative to remand until the end of proceedings according to military law, which is mainly applied on Palestinian child detainees. In consequence many children confess to crimes they supposedly committed in order to prevent longer terms of detention. The confessions, minors are forced to sign, are often written in Hebrew, a language that many Palestinian children cannot read.
About 93% of the children convicted of stone throwing between 2005 and 2010 are sentenced to imprisonment, which shows that there is hardly any alternative punishment to incarceration. The length of detention varies greatly, ranging from a few days up to 20 months. The experiences made in detention harm the children’s development severely. Once they are released, the majority of young ex-detainees suffer from various problems, including social, financial and emotional difficulties.
The mistreatment of Palestinian children in Israel’s courts and prisons is constantly ignored. Even the mere awareness of minors enduring imprisonment is missing, which made a current event very obvious: When in October this year Gilat Shalit was freed in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, no one talked about the minors detained; neither did Israel’s authorities nor the international community, nor did Hamas.
http://www.alternativenews.org (Israel)
Jana Grunewald for the Alternative Information Center
In September 2009 Israel established the Military Youth Court. Two years later, in September 2011 Israel finally met its obligations under international law and raised the age of majority in the military courts from 16 to 18. However, none of these changes brought major improvements in practice and the abuse of Palestinian children arrested and detained by Israeli authorities continues…
(Scores of Palestinian children are in Israeli prisons/photo: flickr/jpmacor)
Since the beginning of the Second Intifada in September 2000, Israel started to deploy administrative detention orders on children. According to international law, administrative detention is only permitted on a very limited scale, especially in concern of minors. In Israel, however, Palestinian children are being detained systematically ever since. Every year there is an approximately 700 Palestinian children arrested by the Israeli military and prosecuted in its courts.
Currently 164 Palestinian children are kept in Israeli detention, mostly being charged with stone throwing. Although it is forbidden by Israeli law to imprison any human being under the age of 14, 35 of the children detained are aged between 12 and 13. It is alarming that minors are arrested and incarcerated in violation of Israeli and international legislation. What is even more disturbing though is the way children are treated during their arrest, interrogation and detention.
Several NGOs that investigated the treatment of minors in Israeli imprisonment, report on physical as well as mental abuse. In many cases minors are arrested in their home during the night and marched off by soldiers without any parental company. The interrogation as well takes place in the absence of a parent and/or an attorney. In many cases, several hours or even days pass until the arrested minors are interrogated at all. While waiting for the interrogation the children concerned are often denied necessary human needs such as sleeping, eating, drinking and going to the toilet. During all stages of the arrest violence is likely to be involved, including choking, punching, slapping, kicking and hair pulling. In addition to that minors are threatened with further violence and even sexual assault.
Another major problem is the fact that there is no alternative to remand until the end of proceedings according to military law, which is mainly applied on Palestinian child detainees. In consequence many children confess to crimes they supposedly committed in order to prevent longer terms of detention. The confessions, minors are forced to sign, are often written in Hebrew, a language that many Palestinian children cannot read.
About 93% of the children convicted of stone throwing between 2005 and 2010 are sentenced to imprisonment, which shows that there is hardly any alternative punishment to incarceration. The length of detention varies greatly, ranging from a few days up to 20 months. The experiences made in detention harm the children’s development severely. Once they are released, the majority of young ex-detainees suffer from various problems, including social, financial and emotional difficulties.
The mistreatment of Palestinian children in Israel’s courts and prisons is constantly ignored. Even the mere awareness of minors enduring imprisonment is missing, which made a current event very obvious: When in October this year Gilat Shalit was freed in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, no one talked about the minors detained; neither did Israel’s authorities nor the international community, nor did Hamas.
Former Mossad chief: Israeli attack on Iran must be stopped to avert catastrophe
1 December 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Meir Dagan speaks out against military offensive on Iran, expresses concern that Defense Minister Barak believes Israel only has less than a year to carry out an attack.
By Amos Harel
Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warned Thursday against an Israeli attack on Iran, saying such a move would likely lead to a regional war involving Hezbollah, Hamas, and Syria.
"I'm concerned about possible mistakes and I prefer to speak out before there is a catastrophe," Dagan said in an interview on the Israeli television program “Uvda."
(Mossad head Meir Dagan. Photo by: Tomer Appelbaum / BauBau)
"I think that engaging, with open eyes, in a regional war is warranted only when we are under attack or when the sword is already cutting against our live flesh. It is not an alternative that should be chosen lightly."
Dagan stressed that though he cannot predict how many casualties an attack on Iran would yield, he said, "I have to assume that the level of destruction, paralysis of every-day life, and Israeli death toll would be high."
He said that he has no interest in hiding his fervent opposition to an Israeli attack on Iran from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Dagan said he was worried about Barak's past comments on Iran, saying Barak believes Israel has less than a year to carry out an military strike.
"I am very concerned," he said. "My understanding of Barak's comments is that Israel must act within this timeframe, but I don't believe this is accurate."
Earlier Thursday, Barak responded to comments by U.S. Joints Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, who said that he did not know whether Israel would alert the United States ahead of time if it decided to take military action against Iran.
Barak said Israel isn't looking for war with Iran and said that he would be pleased if diplomatic moves and sanctions sway Tehran away from its contentious nuclear program.
Barak's comments came after Israeli intelligence sources told the Times of London on Wednesday that a recent explosion in the western Iranian city of Ishafan was not an accident, as Iranian officials had claimed, and that the local uranium conversion plant had been damaged in the blast.
The intelligence officials told the Times that updated satellite images showed smoke billowing from the direction of the conversion plant.
According to the Israeli sources, there was "no doubt" that the blast had damaged the nuclear facility, and that the explosion was not an "accident."
"This caused damage to the facilities in Isfahan, particularly to the elements we believe were involved in storage of raw materials," one source told the Times.
Read this article in Hebrew: דגן מודאג: מדברי ברק עולה שישראל חייבת לפעול באיראן תוך פחות משנה
--------------------
Former Mossad chief: Israeli strike on Iran will lead to regional war
29 November 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Meir Dagan said in a television interview that a military strike will result in massive rocket attacks from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.
Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said in a television interview on Tuesday that if Israel attacks Iran, it will be dragged into a regional war.
According to Dagan, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas will respond with massive rocket attacks on Israel. In that scenario, Syria may join in the fray, Dagan said on the television program “Uvda”.
Dagan also followed up on recent public comments that he made on the topic, after which he was criticized for speaking out on, saying that the Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Finance Minister cannot prevent him from speaking his mind. “We are not living in an undemocratic country; in democratic countries, even people like me have the right to express their opinions,” Dagan said.
Dagan added that such a war would take a heavy toll in terms of loss of life and would paralyze life in Israel. These comments were in response to a recent remark by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, in which he claimed that if a war breaks out between Israel and Iran, it would result in no more than 500 dead Israelis.
"A war is no picnic, but in any scenario there won't be 50 thousand or 5,000 or even 500 dead,” Barak told Israel Radio in an interview three weeks ago, on November 8. Barak also attacked Dagan’s outspokenness on the Iran issue. “The way in which this discussion has taken place, by including those who previously held high positions, was sometimes despicable.”
Barak added, “When the head of the Mossad unprecedentedly brings journalists to Mossad headquarters and instructs them to oppose the prime minister… I think that is very serious behavior. I would have expected him to act intelligently, without manipulations."
It was announced earlier on Tuesday that Dagan will lead a group that will endeavor to immediately alter the system of government in Israel.
Maariv reported Tuesday that the group is operating without much publicity, backed by a group of leaders in the fields of business, culture and law that has already begun to raise funds.
Former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, businessman Gad Zeevi and Herliya Interdisciplinary Center President Professor Uriel Reichman have already joined the new group.
קראו כתבה זו בעברית: מאיר דגן: ברק אמר שיהיו 500 הרוגים? יהיו הרבה יותר
Meir Dagan speaks out against military offensive on Iran, expresses concern that Defense Minister Barak believes Israel only has less than a year to carry out an attack.
By Amos Harel
Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warned Thursday against an Israeli attack on Iran, saying such a move would likely lead to a regional war involving Hezbollah, Hamas, and Syria.
"I'm concerned about possible mistakes and I prefer to speak out before there is a catastrophe," Dagan said in an interview on the Israeli television program “Uvda."
(Mossad head Meir Dagan. Photo by: Tomer Appelbaum / BauBau)
"I think that engaging, with open eyes, in a regional war is warranted only when we are under attack or when the sword is already cutting against our live flesh. It is not an alternative that should be chosen lightly."
Dagan stressed that though he cannot predict how many casualties an attack on Iran would yield, he said, "I have to assume that the level of destruction, paralysis of every-day life, and Israeli death toll would be high."
He said that he has no interest in hiding his fervent opposition to an Israeli attack on Iran from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Dagan said he was worried about Barak's past comments on Iran, saying Barak believes Israel has less than a year to carry out an military strike.
"I am very concerned," he said. "My understanding of Barak's comments is that Israel must act within this timeframe, but I don't believe this is accurate."
Earlier Thursday, Barak responded to comments by U.S. Joints Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, who said that he did not know whether Israel would alert the United States ahead of time if it decided to take military action against Iran.
Barak said Israel isn't looking for war with Iran and said that he would be pleased if diplomatic moves and sanctions sway Tehran away from its contentious nuclear program.
Barak's comments came after Israeli intelligence sources told the Times of London on Wednesday that a recent explosion in the western Iranian city of Ishafan was not an accident, as Iranian officials had claimed, and that the local uranium conversion plant had been damaged in the blast.
The intelligence officials told the Times that updated satellite images showed smoke billowing from the direction of the conversion plant.
According to the Israeli sources, there was "no doubt" that the blast had damaged the nuclear facility, and that the explosion was not an "accident."
"This caused damage to the facilities in Isfahan, particularly to the elements we believe were involved in storage of raw materials," one source told the Times.
Read this article in Hebrew: דגן מודאג: מדברי ברק עולה שישראל חייבת לפעול באיראן תוך פחות משנה
--------------------
Former Mossad chief: Israeli strike on Iran will lead to regional war
29 November 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Meir Dagan said in a television interview that a military strike will result in massive rocket attacks from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.
Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said in a television interview on Tuesday that if Israel attacks Iran, it will be dragged into a regional war.
According to Dagan, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas will respond with massive rocket attacks on Israel. In that scenario, Syria may join in the fray, Dagan said on the television program “Uvda”.
Dagan also followed up on recent public comments that he made on the topic, after which he was criticized for speaking out on, saying that the Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Finance Minister cannot prevent him from speaking his mind. “We are not living in an undemocratic country; in democratic countries, even people like me have the right to express their opinions,” Dagan said.
Dagan added that such a war would take a heavy toll in terms of loss of life and would paralyze life in Israel. These comments were in response to a recent remark by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, in which he claimed that if a war breaks out between Israel and Iran, it would result in no more than 500 dead Israelis.
"A war is no picnic, but in any scenario there won't be 50 thousand or 5,000 or even 500 dead,” Barak told Israel Radio in an interview three weeks ago, on November 8. Barak also attacked Dagan’s outspokenness on the Iran issue. “The way in which this discussion has taken place, by including those who previously held high positions, was sometimes despicable.”
Barak added, “When the head of the Mossad unprecedentedly brings journalists to Mossad headquarters and instructs them to oppose the prime minister… I think that is very serious behavior. I would have expected him to act intelligently, without manipulations."
It was announced earlier on Tuesday that Dagan will lead a group that will endeavor to immediately alter the system of government in Israel.
Maariv reported Tuesday that the group is operating without much publicity, backed by a group of leaders in the fields of business, culture and law that has already begun to raise funds.
Former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, businessman Gad Zeevi and Herliya Interdisciplinary Center President Professor Uriel Reichman have already joined the new group.
קראו כתבה זו בעברית: מאיר דגן: ברק אמר שיהיו 500 הרוגים? יהיו הרבה יותר
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